For the Best
by ArabellaFaith
Summary: Draco becomes an Auror and is partnered up with none other than Harry Potter. Can they put aside their differences and work together? Will they crack the case that gets the Marriage Law repealed? Can be read as sequel to Learning to Live, but can also stand alone. Romance, humor and angst! Now past the end of LTL and onto new plot!
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello all! Thanks for stopping by to check out my little story! A few things you need to know first... This story is a loose sequel to my story Learning to Live. Now don't panic if you haven't read that one, you won't be totally lost, though you might want to consider going back and reading that one. Its a marriage law fic of Hermione and Severus, and Draco and Harry play a decent sized part in. A chunk of this story will go back in time to LTL and show things from their perspective and then will continue on past the end of LTL. This first chapter won't deal much with LTL so you're free to read on without worrying about missing something. In future chapters, when there's something that touches on LTL I'll include a summary in the author's note of what happened for those who don't want to read the other story, that way no one gets left out. But for now, read on, and enjoy!**_

_****special note to my LTL readers...so. Here it is. The long awaited Drarry sequel. I will admit that when I picked this back up, I had totally forgotten that I'd started writing a few pages of it back when I first finished LTL and when I discovered that, I tried to mush the two beginnings together and I'm not 100% sure about the results. Not to worry, their slapstick humor will surface in the next chapter, but go easy on me for this first one, yeah? Thanks in advance everyone; I hope I don't disappoint!**_

For the Best, chapter one

They had to be kidding.

They just had to be. There was no way he'd taken all those tests, done all that training, only to be paired with Harry bloody Potter for his Auror training. It just wasn't possible. No one would be stupid enough as to put them together on _purpose_, right? Their hatred for each other was well known, even to those outside of Hogwarts. There was no way they would ever be able to work together. Much less for the minimum year required for the Auror training. No. There had to be some mistake. Draco stormed into the Auror's offices with grim determination.

His boss's office was the last on the right. Until he reached it, he kept a sneer firmly in place on his face. The more people thought he'd insult them if they spoke to him, the less they spoke to him. Which was the way he preferred it these days. At the door his sneer deepened unconsciously. The plaque outside the door read _**Henry Henry, Head Auror.**_ What kind of name was Henry Henry anyways? Certainly not a proper wizard name, that much was certain. He grimaced at the thought of his future being in the hands of a man named Henry Henry. With a sigh of resignation, he opened the door and stepped in.

"Ah, Draco, our newest recruit. What can I do for you?" The tall slim man smiled at Draco. To Draco's eyes, he didn't look like he would make much of an Auror. Maybe his height would give him some advantage, but he looked too slender to be very strong. His features were so plain as to be forgettable and his smile much too welcoming for someone in their profession in Draco's opinion.

" I think some sort of mistake has been made, Mr Henry-"

"Please," He interrupted, "call me Henry." His eyes twinkled with merriment and mischief. For a moment, Draco was reminded of Dumbledore and his heart twisted before he halted the foolish reaction and once more encased himself in his icy demeanor.

"Yes, sir. Henry." He _refused_ to twinkle back at the older man. "I believe a mistake has been made. I just received my placement owl, and it seems someone has put me with Potter. That can't-"

"Oh that's no mistake Draco my boy. You see we put all the new recruits through rigorous tests to find out who is their exact opposite. That's the point, you see. You'll learn the most training with someone totally unlike you. Techniques you never would have tried, ways of thinking different from your own."

"But Henry, this won't work. I'm sure you are aware of the history between Potter and me."

"Well of course. I'm not sure there's a single person in the wizarding world that isn't aware of the history between you two. Its been public knowledge almost from the first moment the two of you laid eyes on each other!" Henry laughed heartily.

"Then you see why we cannot possibly work together."

"Not at all. I see why the two of you will make perfect partners."

"But-"

"I'm quite convinced, Draco," Henry cut in jovially. "You'll not convince me otherwise, so no point in trying I'm afraid. The two of you will make marvelous partners, you'll see. Now out you go, I believe you have orientation to be getting along to." He looked back down at his papers, effectively dismissing Draco.

Practically seething with anger, Draco fisted his hands and left the office before he could do something stupid without meaning to. Like threaten to tell his father on the Head Auror. He'd changed much in the time since the war had ended but old habits died hard. Just because he'd lost respect for his father, been disillusioned about his entire life and family, didn't mean that his first instincts weren't still to react in the way that had been ingrained in him since his infancy.

Draco headed over to the room where the orientation was taking place. There were only a few others who had passed all the tests and would be starting training that year. The trainees sat in uncomfortable looking chairs while their prospective trainers looked on from a standing position on the edges of the room. Draco took his seat and scanned the faces of the Aurors. Some looked bored, a few looked eager. Then he saw the face he recognized almost as well as his own. Potter looked...stoic. Of _course_ he'd taken the news better than Draco had. Didn't Potter somehow just do everything better?

Everything had always come so easy to Potter. It was one of the reasons Draco had always hated the man. Had he ever had to work for a single thing in his miserable little life? It had all been given to him. Handed out simply because of the bloody scar on his forehead. And worst, Lucius seemed to have some kind of twisted respect for Harry. He despised him, of course, but the Dark Lord had marked Potter as his equal when he was only a baby. That meant something to Lucius. That he was an enemy to be feared. Draco would have given anything to have even that kind of hated respect from his father. But no. Nothing he'd ever done had been good enough. Even when he'd spent years trying to emulate his father in every way, doing things for him that no son should have to do for a father- even as far as nearly killing a man. All to get his father to pay even half as much attention as he did to Harry bloody Potter.

He could feel old resentment building in him and tried to push it down. He knew deep down that it wasn't Harry's fault that Lucius was a bad father. When he was being perfectly honest with himself, he knew that none of the things that had happened to Harry- not the fame, the partial treatment, the adoring fans- were things he'd wanted or asked for. Draco didn't want to know it, because he didn't want to see Harry as a victim, as a real person with feelings. But he did know...Harry would have traded all those things in a heartbeat to only have his parents back.

Accepting that fact had been one of the hardest things Draco had ever done. He hadn't wanted to see the good in his long time enemy. Hadn't wanted to see Harry as just a person, someone who felt rejection and fear and longing and pain. It was easier when he could see him only as someone to be hated. The enemy. But the war had changed all that.

It had changed _Draco_.

Despite his instincts still being to fall back on old habits, Draco wasn't the same boy he'd been. Maybe it was his father being sent off to Azkaban. Maybe it had been the realization that he'd been fighting on the wrong side. Maybe it had been seeing the selflessness, the courage and honor from people he'd dismissed as weak and inconsequential. But Draco had changed. His life view had shifted- as if the whole world had been turned on its axis and suddenly he was forced to look at things another way. He didn't like it, but the change was irrevocable.

Orientation ended quickly and the partners paired off. Draco grudgingly went to where Potter was waiting. He tried to keep the sneer out of his voice when he greeted the man who would be training him for the next year at least.

"Potter."

"Malfoy," Harry returned just as emotionlessly. They stared at each other, neither knowing quite what to do next. "Well come on then," Harry finally said. "Let's get started."

Harry took Draco to the desk they would be sharing. The blonde had yet to say another word to him and Harry couldn't tell if Draco was just giving him the silent treatment or if he was saving up all his acidic comments until when Harry least expected them. The last time Harry had seen Draco had been the day in court when the Malfoys had been charged. Because of Harry's testimony, Lucius had been sent to Azkaban. Anyone could hate the man that sent their father to prison...but Harry's testimony had also been the only thing that had kept Draco himself from Azkaban. How would he handle that?

Despite the fact that it was so easy to vilify Draco (honestly, he couldn't have made himself less likable unless he started stroking an evil white cat and practicing his maniacal laugh) but Harry had to admit that once he knew all the facts about Draco's life, he couldn't hate him. Draco hadn't been the one calling the shots. He, like Harry, had been swept up in someone elses war. They'd been made puppets for masterminds pulling the strings without their say. Harry never faulted Dumbledore for using him to do what needed done. But to have been a puppet for Voldermort...and worse, to have his own father facilitating that usury...it must have been a terrible burden to bear.

In many ways, they were two sides of the same coin. And when it came right down to it, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for Draco. He'd been raised spoiled in things but starved for affection. All his life he'd fought to make his father proud and only earned his scorn. He walked the path his family had sent him down without a way out. But Harry couldn't ever let himself forget that when it had come down to it, Draco had defied his upbringing, his inclination and every expectation by doing the right thing. He'd been unable to kill Dumbledore, and at the end, he'd joined the right side of the fight.

He still thought the man was a prat, but Harry did have some respect for Draco.

* * *

_One Week Later_

Draco wondered if anyone would notice if the Golden Boy suddenly vanished off the face of the earth. Just 'poof,' and he's gone. No fuss, no mess, just...gone. He smiled faintly as he fantasized about the involuntary disappearance of the man in front of him. He had no idea what Potter was rambling on about, but he was sure it was some blather about good triumphing over evil.

"Draco, are you listening?" Harry repeated the question again when the first round didn't elicit any response from the blonde. Draco finally focused his eyes and blinked.

"Huh?"

"Were you listening to a word I said?"

"Oh...yeah. Good triumphs over evil, all that. I got it." He waved dismissively. Harry bit his tongue to keep from lashing out at his new partner. He had, in fact, been talking about the Auror office's policy on paid vacations. Harry let out a long sigh and shook his head. There had to be some way to get through to Draco. Harry simply had to find it. Maybe it involved a mallet and a ball peen hammer...

"No, Draco. That was not what I was saying." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to ten before going on. "Let's just skip over the rest of the policy briefings and move onto our case load, shall we?"

"Sure Potter, whatever you say."

"I do have a first name, Draco. I promise your tongue won't turn black and fall off if you call me Harry."

"There aren't enough Galleons in the world to tempt me to call you by your familiar name, Potter." Draco sneered the words and then mentally kicked himself for it. He'd honestly been trying not to antagonize Potter. But apparently trying and doing were two very different concepts. It would take some getting used to for him to not insult Potter with every other breath. He'd been doing it for so many years that now it was just second nature.

"Fine, Draco. Call me whatever you bloody well please. Call me Miss Harriet Potty for all I care. Just pay attention and don't make this any more difficult than it already is."

Draco bit the inside of his cheek so hard it nearly bled at the delicious thought of calling him Miss Harriet Potty. Apparently there was more in that be-scarred head than just Gryffindor martyrdom. Potter had a wit...who knew?

"Sure, Potter. Whatever you say." Repeating the line had the desired effect of making his point that he didn't give a damn what Potter said, as well as the bonus effect of making Potter's eye twitch. Draco laughed manically in his own head. It sounded rather sinister, actually. It was too bad he was one of the good guys now, because Draco would have made an awesome bad guy. If nothing else came from this terrible partnership, he would at least get some sadistic pleasure in finding out just how many times he could make Potter's eye twitch before he popped a vein...

_**On a totally selfish side note, if any of my lovely Harry Potter readers happen to watch the BBC show Sherlock, would you mind popping over to my ff for that, The Special One? I particularly loved it, but Sherlock doesn't have nearly the same fan base as HP (though its edging its way up there) so I didn't get nearly the review love I've come to appreciate on HP stories. Just stop by to say hi if you get a chance ; )**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I have to admit something, people. I made myself laugh so hard I cried writing this chapter. Seriously. I amuse myself. Hopefully it amuses you all as well : )**_

_**LTL summary for this chapter: The ministry has passed the Marrige law, which says that all muggleborn witches must marry a pureblood (or halfblood) wizard to help bring them back into the pure bloodlines. In the years since the war ended, birth rates have fallen drastically and there has been a rise in stillbirths and squib children. The ministry decided it was because of the diluting of magical bloodlines. Hermione has, of course, gotten many petitions for her hand but rejected them all. She is convinced she can handle the matter on her own and refused help from Harry or Ron. **_

For the Best, chapter two

They worked together for a week after that before Harry stopped expecting Draco to hex him behind his back or snarl insults at him. Despite everything between them, despite their past, they did make a decent team. Harry had always known Draco was smart, and now that they were working together, he got to see it first hand. Whatever shortcuts or cop outs he'd taken in school he didn't bring into work. He was sharp, hardworking and more often than not, quiet.

All in all, Harry couldn't really complain. And he was actually grateful that he didn't have to constantly worry about Draco, since it was Hermione that took up all his thoughts lately. The ministry had enacted the Marriage Law, requiring all muggleborns to marry a pureblood or halfblood. It was awful, utterly prejudiced, and despite all the railing Harry had been doing in his free time, it wasn't going away. Even though both Harry and Ron had offered to petition for her contract, Hermione had threatened them within an inch of their lives that they weren't under any circumstances to marry her.

Ginny, who Harry had been dating for a few years at that point, had absolutely no problems with the idea. She and Hermione had grown close over the years, and they were all friends. There was no reason they couldn't make it work. But Hermione seemed convinced that it simply _wouldn't_ work. And despite the fact that they weren't as close as they had once been, Harry had absolutely no doubts that Ron would do the same thing. His girlfriend Adele was sweet enough, and no one needed be the wiser about the whole thing. But Hermione refused. She seemed convinced that she could handle the whole thing on her own.

The night before the final day for petitioners to submit themselves for the marriage contracts, Harry received an owl from Henry Henry asking that he and Draco investigate a series of poisonings at a pub in Dublin.

Since Harry hadn't gotten a new owl yet, he went in person to Draco's flat to let him know about their newest assignment. After knocking for several minutes, Harry finally heard life behind the door. Draco started speaking before he'd even opened it.

"I told you last night that I didn't want any part of-" He pulled the door open finally and froze. "Potter? What are you doing here?"

Harry held up the message he'd received. "New assignment. He wants us to start tonight. Were you expecting someone else?"

Draco looked around, then shook his head. He snatched the parchment from Harry's hand and read through it quickly. Without a word, he grabbed his cloak from behind the door and stepped into the street with Harry.

"What don't you want any part of?" Harry asked after they'd been walking for a few minutes.

"What?" Draco looked to Harry sharply, then shook his head. "Nothing. Just something someone wanted me to join them with. Thought I'd have a _good time_." Draco sneered the words.

"You obviously disagree."

"Its not really going to happen anyways. He's just a lot of talk."

"Nothing to worry about then?" Harry glanced to Draco and saw him look almost afraid for a moment. Then he shook his head again.

"No."

They arrived at the pub well after dark. The usual crowd had settled in for the night and were well into their cups. At first Harry and Draco split up to see what information they could garner on their own. But after a few minutes they realized that separate they looked too much like strangers poking for information. So they found a table and ordered a few butterbeers.

"How have things been going?" Harry asked as they waited for the waitress to bring them their drinks.

"Oh, you know, sunshine and roses." Draco inspected the surface of their table and obviously found it lacking. He sneered at it so hard that Harry thought the offending dust and stains were brave not to get up and run away.

"That bad then?"

"Cut the chatter Potter. You and I both know that you're not interested in my personal life. If you're just looking to make small talk, stick to the weather."

"Is it so hard to believe that I actually care what's going on in your life?" Harry sighed and paid the waitress that had just brought their drinks. He shook his head, resigning himself to a long night. He and Draco had been very casual about all their conversations before, but Draco had never been outright rude to him if he ventured too close to something personal. Obviously the blonde was in a bear of a mood and had no intention of taking it easy on his partner.

"Why would you?" The words were so softly muttered that Harry almost didn't hear them. He looked up sharply and saw that Draco was gripping his cup so hard that it might shatter.

"Draco, what's wrong?"

Draco looked up sharply. His name still sounded so foreign on Harry's tongue. Even with how strange it sounded, the concern in Harry's voice was blatantly real. He was...worried? About Draco?

"Nothing." He couldn't bring himself to open up to Harry Potter. Partner or no. Not about this. Not only would Potter go ballistic if he knew the whole of it, but it would bring up issues they had put aside in order to work together. No, Lucius wasn't a topic they would be discussing.

"How long have we been partners?"

"I don't know exactly. It's not like I keep a journal of our time together." When Harry only kept looking at him, Draco sighed and estimated. "Six months maybe?"

"And in all that time, have I ever once done anything to make you think I wanted to continue the feud we had in school?"

"Well no-"

"Have I ever been cruel to you or treated you badly because of our past or anything that happened during the war?"

"No."

"Then tell me why its so hard to believe that I actually care what's going on in your life. If you don't want to tell me what's bothering you, fine. But don't just assume that I'm being disingenuous."

"Stay up last night playing with a dictionary, Potter?" The barb was spoken lightly.

"Yeah, I found the one you threw out first year. No wonder your reports look written by an eleven year old." Harry grinned at Draco and he felt an answering smile turn his lips up. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. He wouldn't talk about the things his father had said- they were only idle talk anyways- but it would be nice, maybe, to have someone to talk to about Lucius.

"You know my father is out of Azkaban, right?" When Harry only nodded, he went on. "Well now that Mother's left him, he spends all his time up in the manor house hating the world. He's so convinced that he's been wronged. The time in prison didn't reform him or make him regret the things he did. It made him bitter. I don't see him much, but every time I do, he's ranting about how the world's been torn apart and he's been betrayed by his own people..."

"That's got to be hard for you."

"Yeah, well it's not great." He ran his hand through his hair. "Like I said, I don't see him often, but when I do, he never has anything to say about what I've made of myself or what my life is like. He just wants to talk about how unfair it all is."

Harry watched Draco take a long drink of his butterbeer and shake his head dejectedly. What would it be like, to have a father but have him not truly care about you?

"Sometimes I wonder," he mused out loud, "which of us had it worse."

"What?" Draco looked up and glared at him.

"You and me. I never knew my parents. I grew up in a house with people who would have been happy if I'd simply disappeared. I always felt slighted because I was denied parents. But I wonder if it would be worse to have them, but have ones that didn't care."

"Trust me, you got off easy, Potter. I grew up with a man who could never be pleased. He only had me because as a pureblood, he saw it as his duty to pass his genes on. I was more of a...a trophy to him than a son."

"Yeah, well growing up for the first 11 years of your life with people who thought you were a freak and kept you in a cupboard under the stairs wasn't a walk in the park either."

"Do you know what my father did to me when he found out that Slytherin had lost the house cup first year? He didn't speak to me for a month. A _month_. And when he finally did, he told me that he took it as a personal failure on my part that we'd lost. That I was a representation of him and that if I couldn't do a better job he'd disown me. Because the house lost the cup that year. Which wasn't even _my fault_."

"The Dursleys shaved my head one night because they were tired of my hair being messy. Shaved it down to the skin."

"Father told me I was weak and useless the night I didn't kill Dumbledore. Said I was a disgrace."

"Your father helped kill my godfather."

"Oh going below the belt, eh Potter? Fine then. Your father stole _my_ godfather's girl."

"True enough." Harry chuckled. "Call it a draw?"

"My father would say there can be no draws. Only winning and abject failure."

"Then it's a good thing your father isn't here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Draco smiled at Harry and took another drink of his butterbeer.

Four hours later, they were both hanging upside down in a warehouse outside the city. Harry's wand had been tossed into a pile of rubbish on the other side of the room. Draco had his tucked into the belt of his trousers, but at some point in the struggle it had slipped into them. Now that they were upside down, it was practically on the placket of his pants. With both his hands tied behind his back though, he couldn't get at it.

"I blame you," Draco said conversationally. He could hear blood rushing in his ears and knew his face was probably as purple as Potter's was.

"Oh really?" Harry struggled and tried to pull one hand out of his bindings but they held fast.

"Yes. If you hadn't started chatting me up, we might have noticed that our drinks were being laced."

"Well if you hadn't insisted we keep drinking to maintain our cover, we wouldn't have been drugged."

"Well if you hadn't been so adamant that we only drink butterbeer, our cover wouldn't have been blown to begin with."

"Well if you- oh sod it all. We can play the blame game later. I have an idea."

"Why do I get the feeling that I won't like this idea?" Draco asked cautiously.

"Because you're not going to. But don't worry, you won't dislike it _nearly_ as much as I will." Without another word, he swung back and forth until he had a good rhythm going. When he had enough momentum, he swung himself toward Draco and latched onto his belt with his teeth.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!?" Draco squirmed and bucked until Harry was shaken off. "I think the blood vessels in your brain have burst Potter. Stay away from my crotch!"

"Oh shut it, I'm not trying to bite your wanker off. I'm trying to get to your wand."

"With your teeth?!"

"Do you see another option?"

"Yes. We die horrible deaths and no one has to ever know your head was that close to my groin."

"Uh huh. Well I'd rather_ not_ die, thanks. Now hold still."

"Potter..."

Harry had already started swinging again and was latched onto Draco's belt in moments.

"We will never speak of this to anyone," Draco hissed. "Ever." Harry mumbled something back that sounded like vigorous assent, then started using his teeth to try and undo Draco's belt.

"Uk i ih," he grumbled.

"What?"

"Uk i in!" Harry inhaled sharply to demonstrate.

"Suck it in? You'd better not be implying that I'm fat, Potter!" Harry only laughed. "And none of that. No laughing while trying to undo my trousers with your teeth. You'll damage my psyche." Harry only laughed harder. He managed to get the belt undone and was clinging to the trousers with his teeth, trying to get the zipper down with his tongue. He managed to get it down an inch and then pushed too hard and his tongue came into contact with skin. Draco squealed like a girl seeing a spider and bucked like a bronco. "Off! Get off! No more! _I choose death_!" he wailed. Harry sighed dramatically and managed to hang on despite his partner's squirming. Once they stopped swinging, he resumed working on the zipper. "I loathe you," Draco said resignedly. "And you will forget you ever heard me make a noise that high pitched," he added. Before Harry could respond in any way, the door opened and they were both momentarily blinded by light. Frozen with shock, they both could only look to where the door was.

"What the bloody hell?" Their kidnapper gaped at them, not sure what to make of Harry opening Draco's trousers while they were both bound and hanging upside down. Draco moaned in dejection and could only hope that he was killed quickly to be spared the humiliation. Before the thug took another step into the room, Harry finally got the zipper all the way down and Draco's wand fell into his mouth. He clenched his teeth around it, leaned back and head butted Draco in the side so he spun like a top. When his back was to Harry, he mumbled a spell and flicked his head.

As he'd expected, the wand gave an angry rebound that sent him swinging wildly back and then shot red sparks at the bindings on Draco's wrists. The old fibers quickly caught fire.

"Hot...hot...HOT! DAMN IT ALL POTTER YOU'VE CAUGHT ME ON FIRE!" Draco wiggled like a worm on a hook but before he was seriously burned, the rope broke apart. Their kidnaper, seeing Draco pull free of his bindings, grabbed out his wand and advanced on them. Draco shook loose the last of the rope and snatched his wand from Harry's mouth. He sent a bodybind at the thug and then grimaced. "And you've got your slobber all over my wand." No more attackers seemed forthcoming so Draco took the time to wipe the offending slobber off on his shirt. Harry coughed like he was choking, and then spit a button at Draco. It bounced off his forehead. "_I loathe you._"

_**that was a much better chapter than the first one, yes? Then can I talk you into leaving me a review and voicing your opinion? Yes? Oh, well wonderful then! Thanks in advance ; ) **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**LTL summary: Hermione went to the petition hearing and asked the minister to waive the law in her case. He refused, and gave her the choice of marrying or being expelled from the wizarding world and her wand snapped. Then, Lucius stepped forward and asked that his petition be accepted instead of all the others because of his superior bloodlines (this was what he'd talked to Draco about that he'd wanted no part of, but Draco hadn't actually thought his father would go through with it.) Snape, who had been watching over Hermione from afar (she saved his life in the Shrieking Shack) stepped in before Hermione could be forced to choose, realizing that Lucius only wanted Hermione for revenge. After a very quick duel (Snape had Lucius down on his arse in less than five seconds) Snape and Hermione were married, and she moved into his flat. Things went surprisingly well (which of course you can read about in LTL if you're so inclined) and everyone seems happy, except for Ron who nearly blew a gasket!**_

They didn't get back into the ministry until almost noon. It had taken that long to get themselves down from the rafters, untied, get the kidnapper transferred to Azkaban to await trial and then make their way back to the pub to take statements from the staff. By the time they arrived at the ministry, they were exhausted, filthy and ridiculously pleased with their success. It was Draco's first big arrest and he seemed ready to shout their news to the world. Harry actually thought it was nice to see him so happy for once.

Both their reports were carefully worded, making not a single mention of how they freed themselves in the warehouse. Harry still found it amusing, but Draco made him swear that he would take it to his grave. It was evening by the time they had filled out all the appropriate paperwork and were ready to go home for the day. Draco stood and stretched, smiling smugly.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we made the front page of the Daily Prophet tomorrow. Aurors of the year. Women will be throwing themselves at me any minute now."

"Women-" Harry stopped dead, whatever quip he'd been about to make lost. "Hermione!" He stood up and was about to tear out of the office when a charmed paper bird bumped into the side of his head. He opened it quickly. It was from Hermione. It just said that she was fine, and not to do anything stupid. Hermione was smart. If she needed help, then she would have asked for it. But Harry knew that Ron wouldn't be nearly as rational as he was. He needed to find out what had happened in court and then he needed to find Ron and keep him from doing just what Hermione had asked them _not_ to do. "I've got to go," he said quickly to Draco.

"What? What's the matter?"

"I don't know, exactly. But I've got to find Ron."

"Fine, go off to Weasley and do whatever it is the two of you do." Draco waved Harry away and as his partner apparated away, he reminded himself that asking Harry to have a pint with him to celebrate would have been a stupid idea anyways. Harry had his own friends. Real friends. He didn't need Draco. More, Draco didn't need stupid Harry Potter to celebrate with him. He didn't need anyone. So why did it hurt?

The next morning, Harry arrived at the Auror's office just as Draco did.

"Mind if we take a detour on our way to town? I just need to stop off at the ministry."

"Whatever you say, Potter." Draco glowered at everyone around them and snatched his papers off the desk.

"Listen, I don't know if you've heard about what happened-"

"Oh, I've heard. I don't need you serenading me on my father's wicked ways. Let's just go."

"Draco, wait. I wasn't going to say anything like that. I just wanted to know if you'd heard."

"I heard it right from the horse's mouth," Draco snarled. "My father is quite upset that he won't have his own little broodemare to torture at his leisure. Are we done talking about this now? I'd like to get going."

Harry wanted to say more, but he could see how upset Draco was. They'd only just started to open up to each other, but Harry knew his partner well enough to know that Draco was ashamed of what Lucius had done. It had to be hard, knowing that his own father had such nefarious plans for an innocent woman. The article in the daily prophet hadn't mentioned specifically what Lucius' intentions had been to Hermione, but Harry had been able to figure them out well enough for himself and he guessed Draco had as well. With a sigh, he turned and they left the office.

When they arrived at the ministry, they went quickly to Hermione's office in Department and Regulation of Magical Creatures. Harry looked at her desk dejectedly. He had no desire to wait there, in the middle of the room with all those women...but it was very important that he speak to Hermione as soon as possible. Grimacing, he went in to wait by her desk. It took less than a minute for the crowd to form. They pressed in around Hermione's desk, everyone trying to talk to Harry or touch him. He cringed away from everyone in arms reach. Draco was casually leaning against the desk, either so disgusted with the whole situation that he couldn't speak, or too disinterested to bother. He only spoke when one of the women got too close and jostled him. Then he'd look up and mutter a casual, "piss off" to the offender and go back to his slouch.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione arrived at work. Harry hugged her and whispered his plea for help to her as he did. In a few moments, she had the area cleared.

"That's right you lot, shove off!" Draco stood away from her desk and glared at the retreating crowd. "Finally. I've been trying to accomplish that for nearly quarter of an hour." He glanced to Hermione, then away.

"Not that its not lovely to see you Harry, but what are you doing here?" The rosy glow to her cheeks had begun to fade.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here?' All we heard from you yesterday was "don't do anything stupid." What were we supposed to figure that meant?"

"Just what it said. Don't do anything stupid. I'm fine." She set her things down primly. Harry was so exasperated that he wanted to shake the woman.

"But you're married to Snape!"

"Yeah, well, it could have been worse." She glanced to Draco seemingly unconsciously. Draco stiffened, then rolled his eyes in a dramatic show.

"Don't look at me that way, Mudblood. My father-" He was cut off by Harry's forearm against his throat. He'd whirled around so fast that Draco hadn't even seen him move. It was times like these that Draco was reminded that this was the man that had faced down the Dark Lord more than half a dozen times and lived to tell the tale. Harry Potter could be truly frightening when he was provoked. Draco drew in a breath that shook slightly and stared down his partner.

"Don't you ever use that word in front of me again, Draco," he hissed. "Unless you want me to show you every single hex I know, I suggest you apologize to Hermione."

"Bloody hell, Potter, I didn't mean anything by it," Draco said stubbornly. He knew he shouldn't have called her that. In all honesty, he hadn't even meant to. It had just slipped out. An ugly word that was part of his ugly past. But he didn't want to give Potter the satisfaction of making him apologize, either. He pushed at Harry's chest, but his partner didn't budge. They stared at each other for a long moment, then Draco glanced to Hermione. She didn't need to be punished just to save Draco's pride. "Fine, _sorry_ Granger," he sneered. "But I guess it's Snape now, isn't it?" He rubbed his throat where Harry's forearm had pressed. Some part of him wanted to make a sincere apology to the woman, but he just couldn't bring himself to it. Instead, he looked to Harry again. "Do that to me again, Potter, and I'll knee you so hard your bits turn into lady parts."

"Take a walk, Draco," Harry said softly. It was low, totally devoid of emotion. Draco found himself afraid that he'd ruined the tentative ...friendship? forming between him and Harry. Angry at himself for saying what he had, angry at Harry for making him care, angry at Hermione for being there to begin with, he glared at the world in general and stalked away. He made it a safe distance away so he wouldn't have to hear them discussing what his father had done. He didn't want to hear it again. Especially from the woman his father had tried to marry, simply for revenge.

He knew that he would never escape the stigma of his father's sins. And he had plenty of his own sins as well. But he didn't need to have them aired in his face. He was perfectly aware of how terrible his family was. Of how messed up some of the things they did were. Seeing the living breathing proof of it only made him angry. What could he do about it? He was his father's son, no matter how many times Lucius threatened to disown him.

"What?" The screech came from across the room. Hermione snatched her papers up again in a rush. "Blast it all, Harry!" She practically flew across the room to speak to her boss. Then she turned to Harry once more with her finger pointed at him accusingly. "And you! I'm holding you personally responsible if any of this gets out of hand."

"Why me?" Harry said defensively.

"Because you're one of the only people who can talk him out of these stupid ideas he gets into his fool head!" Without another word, she apparated away. Harry shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck as if trying to relieve the tension there.

"Weasley?" Draco asked casually when Harry walked over. Harry sighed and nodded.

"Stormed off to Snape's to defend her virtue."

"Moron," Draco commented. Harry agreed with a grunt and they left the ministry. Neither of them spoke about their altercation earlier. There wasn't anything else that needed said on the subject.

* * *

Two Months Later

Harry counted to one hundred while taking deep, calming breaths. He'd started out counting to ten, then twenty, then fifty. Now he was up to one hundred and it was still barely enough to keep him from tearing Draco's arms off and beating him over his blonde head with them.

"You cannot just go around telling people that their children are _slimy tadpoles spawned from awkward adolescent shagging_!"

"Well its true," Draco countered indignantly.

"I don't care if its bloody true!" Harry roared. "You don't tell the leading judge in our case _anything _derogatory about her progeny!" He looked only seconds away from boxing Draco's ears so Draco wisely kept his mouth shut. He eyed his partner coldly, which was the best he could do under the circumstances. Draco simply didn't do humble. Cold was the best he had to offer. It was either cold or haughty and he was afraid that if he went with haughty then Potter would remove his eye teeth and wear them on a necklace for the world to see.

Potter had such a ….physical presence. And it didn't help that he was a solid twenty pounds of muscle heavier than Draco. Not that Draco would ever admit to being physically intimidated by Potter. He'd rather have said eyeteeth removed and put on display in the Museum of Magical History.

_**Canine teeth of Homo Sapien in the family Malfoy-eius**_

_**This sample of the Succedaneous Dention from the class Draco-eius **_

"You'd better be bloody listening to me, Draco," Harry's voice dropped into a menacing whisper. He really could be intimidating when he wanted. Draco dragged himself to attention.

"Yeah, Potter, I heard you. No insulting the judge or her spawn. Got it."

"You had better have '_got it_,' Draco. I had to spend the last two hours doing damage control and trying to convince our boss's boss not to boot your arse to the street!"

Draco started in shock and stared at Harry. Just to make sure he hadn't misunderstood, he replayed Harry's last words in his head. Then once more.

"Henry Henry's boss wanted to fire me?" His brows creased in surprise.

"You're damn right he wanted to fire you! What did you expect?!"

"And you...stood up for me?" He continued incredulously as if Harry hadn't spoken at all. Draco sounded so utterly astonished that Harry finally stopped yelling at him.

"Of course I did, not that you deserve it," he muttered. "Whether we like it or not, we're partners. I wasn't going to let him give you the sack without at least _trying_ to talk him out of it."

"But...you hate me." Draco continued to stare at Harry as if he'd grown eight foot tentacles where his ears ought to have been. Harry ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

"No, I don't hate you, Draco. I think you're an insensitive, irresponsible, immature twit, but I don't hate you."

"Gee, thanks. You really know how to make a bloke feel good, Potter."

"Shut it, Draco. I don't ignore your flaws just like I'm sure you don't ignore mine. I don't hate you because I don't want to. I've seen enough hate to last me a lifetime. A dozen lifetimes. And I'm not wasting my time and energy hating you."

"So it would have taken more energy to hate me and just letme get the sack than it took to go to bat for me and save my job?" Draco felt as if he might blow a fuse trying to follow Potter's logic.

"Yes. Wait, no. Bloody hell you're mangling my words. I don't hate you and I don't want you fired. That's the point."

"But you don't want to work with me," Draco stated obviously, as if saying, 'the sky is blue,'

"Not when you go around insulting Judge's children!" Harry threw his hands up in the air in frustration and started shuffling papers on his desk.

Draco watched him for a few minutes, trying to puzzle out what the hell had just happened. He'd said something stupid to someone important, and instead of Potter taking extreme glee in watching Draco get the boot, he'd actually worked to help Draco keep his job. Why had he done it? There wasn't anything he could possibly hope to gain from it... And even if he claimed not to hate Draco, he certainly didn't like him. So what had been his reasoning? Draco shook his head and chalked the whole situation up to Gryffindor gregariousness.

"You're one odd duck, Potter."

"Yeah, well, quack you too."

Draco snorted to hide the laughter that he'd been unable to suppress. Harry looked up at him with raised brows.

"What?" Draco scowled and furiously fought the smile of amusement that threatened to twitch his lips.

"Nothing at all," he said mildly. "By the way, your antics bought us the Residual case."

"You've got to be kidding me! The residual magic the Unspeakables reported last year? Why the hell did they give that to us?"

"Because Henry Henry is tired of bouncing it around from Auror to Auror and decided that two fine junior Aurors such as ourselves ought to handle the case. And since _one_ of us decided to mouth off to an important judge, we were the lucky pair chosen."

"He's punishing me with boring work? Why can't we be tracking down smugglers or thieves or something? This is ridiculous. We don't even know if this magic is being used to do something dangerous."

"Dark magic usually is," Harry said casually.

"Yeah, well this is stupid. We should be working a real case. A case with some action. Something."

"Last time we worked a case with 'real action' we got kidnapped and ended up hanging upside down in an abandoned warehouse. And you know how that ended."

"Don't even mention that incident to me." He shuddered and glared at Harry. "I'd rather die of boredom."

"Yeah, well you just might get your wish. I don't see this case going anywhere anytime soon." He sighed and looked over the paperwork on it again. No, he didn't see it going anywhere any time soon.

_**Hello all, just a quick word-I will be going on vacation for two weeks and won't be at a computer and hence won't be able to post the chapter for next week. I will definitely be back to my regular posting the week after that so not to worry. And remember...I can always be bribed with reviews into putting up the next chapter early ; )**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I am so so so sooooo sorry this is late! If it's any excuse, I am now very tan and had an amazing time on vacation. And as a treat since I've so sorely neglected you, this chapter is long and you'll be getting two a week for a while.**_

_**LTL summary for this chapter: Draco goes to Snape to ask for help with the Untracable case he and Harry have been working. An 'event' happens between him, Snape and Hermione (which will remain shrouded in mystery to those who haven't already read about it in LTL, don't worry, it will eventually be explained, but if you haven't read LTL you'll just have to wait in suspence like Harry!). Hermione and Snape are getting along well, and then the Heir clause is added to the Marriage law, saying that all couples married under the law have one year from their marriage to produce an heir. Of course this causes much uproar on all fronts, but Snape and Hermione work through it!**_

**_Last time:_**

_"Last time we worked a case with 'real action' we got kidnapped and ended up hanging upside down in an abandoned warehouse. And you know how that ended."_

_"Don't even mention that incident to me." He shuddered and glared at Harry. "I'd rather die of boredom."_

_"Yeah, well you just might get your wish. I don't see this case going anywhere anytime soon." He sighed and looked over the paperwork on it again. No, he didn't see it going anywhere any time soon._

And now...

Chapter 4

A week after that, Draco went to see Snape to ask for his help. He returned to the Auror's office half an hour later pale and shaking slightly and refused to tell Harry what had happened. Three days later, Snape showed up and grudgingly offered to help them with the curse. The whole time, he glared daggers at Draco. After he was gone, even when Harry pressed him, Draco still wouldn't tell him why the ex professor seemed to want his former favorite student made into minced meat.

* * *

Having help with the case, though, seemed to help bolster Draco's spirits. He hadn't seen his father since the incident with Hermione either, so that might have helped bolster his spirits as well. And the more time he spent with Harry, the closer they became. It wasn't as if the history between them had been wiped away. On the contrary, they seemed to have somehow built a friendship from the ashes of their enmity. It was a strange, contrary thing, but for the first time in his life, Draco felt as if he could be totally himself with someone. How it was possible that the person he felt most at home with had once been his greatest enemy, he wasn't sure. But what he did know, unequivocally, was that by the time they got more news on the curse, Harry Potter knew him better than any other person in the world.

Somehow, Harry had become his best friend.

While they worked on the residual magic case, they continued to take other cases as well. They worked the Crustacean Caper, in which several wizards of ill repute were smuggling illegal substances into Great Britain in the shells of crabs. They solved the Mushroom Mystery, which once again found them hanging upside down in an abandoned warehouse. (Draco had stopped stowing his wand in his waistband specifically to prevent a repeat of what had happened last time. This time Harry had to get Draco's wand out of his shoe with his teeth, a situation much preferable to both of them, though Harry complained for weeks after that his mouth tasted like old socks.) They even caught the culprits behind the Elf Escapade, which ended with them being stuck in a vat of pudding for several hours before they were able to eat themselves to freedom.

Harry would have never guessed who Draco was under his facade of ice and disdain. He was actually _funny._ He was clever and quick witted, and gave as good as he got with barbs and banter. When the weight of the world wasn't on his shoulders, Draco was light hearted and easy to get along with. He was still snide and haughty at times, but Harry knew him well enough to see what was a mask for deeper emotion and what was pure, laughable snobbery.

Harry wasn't exactly sure how to admit it to himself, but somewhere along the line he'd begun to like Draco. If anyone had asked, he would have told them unequivocally that Draco was a prat- which was still true- but that didn't seem to stop Harry from becoming friends with him. It was an odd thing, the two of them making a decent crime fighting duo, but it was even more odd that they were decent friends as well.

Even when the new legislation came down from the ministry adding the heir clause to the marriage law, Draco was on Harry's side. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but whole hearted support and even voiced outrage weren't it. When Harry had gone to see Hermione at the Ministry, Draco had been concerned for her and even called her by her given name. What was more, when Mione stood to kiss Harry's cheek to say goodbye, she did the same to Draco. He'd said something about not mentioning the kiss to Snape (which Harry didn't understand at all) and then the two of them had shared a private laugh about it. She mentioned that Severus had come up with a possible way for them to track down the residual magic, so they made plans to see him the next day.

When Harry asked again, Draco still wouldn't say what had happened between Hermione, Draco and Snape, but Harry swore that one day he'd figure it out.

"Its a tracer spell," Snape said coolly to them.

"I can tell it's a tracer spell, but how do you think it's going to help us?" Harry and Draco studied the parchment Snape had drawn up the spell on.

"Is your head still as empty as it was first year? Can you not see that I've modified it? It will follow the residual magic and, if preformed correctly, will lead you to whoever is fueling the curse."

"That's never been done before," Harry objected.

"Obviously," Snape drawled. He had been in a much better mood lately, but his patience was still thin when dealing with the boys. And Snape never failed to make Harry feel like an 11 year old when he used that tone of voice on him. "It will take quite a complex bit of magic to make it work, and I must say, I have my doubts either of you will be able to accomplish it."

"Harry can do it," Draco said firmly. Two sets of eyes flew to him and stared at him in utter shock. He fidgeted, realizing that he probably shouldn't have said anything at all. "What? You both know he can. Despite this little," he gestured between them, "family feud between the two of you, you know that Harry can pull off just about whatever the hell he puts his mind to, Severus." He cleared his throat and glanced to Harry. "And don't give me that look. When push comes to shove you'll get it done."

There was a long moment of silence between the three of them and then finally, Snape spoke up.

"Then I leave it in your...capable hands," he said to Harry. The way he said 'capable' though, made it perfectly obvious that he had his doubts still.

Draco and Harry made their way to the Auror's offices to try out the new spell. After a rather sticky disaster with a spell gone wrong on another case (with two different Aurors, of course) Henry Henry had banned tracking/detecting/information gathering spells from the main offices. A room had been outfitted for all the Aurors to use for such things on the third floor of the building. They made their way there and Harry spread out the parchment Snape had given them.

"Sheesh, he was right, this is going to be complicated." Harry studied the parchment with concern in his eyes. Draco only shrugged.

"You'll figure it out."

"That's the second time you've said as much. Care to share why you're so confident?" Harry turned to him and leaned back against the table. Draco shrugged again and paced away from him.

"You always do. Whatever you've set your sights on you've always somehow pulled off, one way or another. It was one of the reasons I hated you in school."

"Oh, is that what it was? See I always thought it was because I snubbed you the first day of school when you started spouting pureblood nonsense and chose to befriend a Weasley over you." Harry grinned mischievously. Draco snarled at him harmlessly.

"I said _one_ of the reasons, dimwit. There was that one too." He rolled his eyes.

"This coming from the boy who always got everything he ever wanted? All you ever had to do was point something out and it was given to you."

"Yeah, things that could be bought, sure. Father always made sure I had the best of everything. I was a status symbol for him. But things he couldn't give me, learning and success, I had to work my arse off for and it didn't always pay off. Unlike you."

"I didn't always just have things work out for me. There were plenty of things I've failed at."

"Well it didn't look that way from where I was sitting."

"Back then you were sitting in the wrong place." Harry folded his arms and watched Draco. Draco nodded once then continued walking the distance of the room.

"I'm aware. Now are we going to do this or not?" He gestured impatiently to the parchment. Harry smirked and turned back to it.

"Sure. As soon as you get back over here and help me."

"Help you?"

"Yeah. Help. Its this thing that sometimes people do for other people. Usually people they like."

"Who says I like you?" Draco quipped with a raised brow.

"Lucky guess," Harry said with a grin. "I'll bet almost all those things that you thought I so effortlessly succeeded at I had help with. No man is an island you know."

Draco only looked at Harry for a moment, letting that sink in. All the things the famous Harry Potter had done, all the feats he'd accomplished, he mostly had help for. Weasley and Hermione had been at his side almost every step of the way. Their unwavering bond had made the three of them together a force mighty enough for even Voldermort to stop and take notice. But it wasn't them Harry was looking to now for support. It was Draco. The two of them were a partnership, a team. And from what he'd seen so far, Draco didn't think there was an end of what they could accomplish together.

He nodded past the silly tightness in his chest and studied the parchment. It wasn't the first time he'd realized how important Harry bloody Potter had become to him...but it was the first time he'd realized how important _he'd _become to _Harry_.

"So here's what I'm thinking. I'll start casting, and I'll need you to fuel the spell so I can focus on the intricacies. But you'll have to be careful not to boost too much power into it until its ready."

"Alright." He pulled his wand out, thinking back to when Harry had saved his job. He'd thought, even after all they'd been through together, Harry would have taken the first opportunity to be rid of Draco. But he hadn't.

"I'm ready. Start giving power, just a little to start with."

Draco began fueling the spell, still wrapped up in thinking about his partnership. When had Draco become more than just a pity case or a duty to Harry? Yes, they had set aside their old rivalry from the first, but Draco had always assumed that despite their newfound closeness, Harry still had the old resentment within him somewhere. Draco knew that if their positions had been reversed, he wouldn't have been able to let go of seven years of anger so easily. For him it had been easier because he'd been forced to see that he'd been in the wrong. No matter what his personal feelings or what excuses he'd concocted over the years, Draco (and the whole blasted situation) had been cruelly unjust to Harry. So why hadn't he still held onto that? Let it fester inside of him?

"A bit more power now," Harry said through gritted teeth. He was concentrating heavily and sweat had begun to pour down his forehead. Draco watched him, almost unable to believe the simple goodness of the man before him. For the first time when being confronted with just how decent a man Harry was, Draco didn't feel resentment or jealousy. He felt...pride. It was ridiculous. Why should he feel pride that Harry was a good man? But it was there all the same. Pride for his partner welling up like a wave cresting within him-

"Draco! Too much!" Harry fought to contain all the energy that had suddenly flooded into the spell. It was as if Draco had suddenly flung open a gate and power poured through him and into the tracer spell. Draco realized what had happened and tried to pull back but it was too late. The spell erupted explosively. Draco was thrown back against the wall and Harry thrown the opposite direction. He crashed through the window and plummeted towards the pavement below.

_"Arresto Momentum!_" Draco screamed the spell but the words only came out as a whisper because all the air had been knocked from his lungs. Despite his burning muscles he raced to the shattered window and looked out, desperately hoping against hope that he wouldn't see Harry splattered on the sidewalk.

"Do you think you could levitate me back into the building?" Harry called from one inch off the sidewalk. "I can't seem to move."

Draco let out a sigh of relief and flicked his wand at Harry, bringing him up and into the room again. When he was once more on his feet, Draco took a step towards him with his arms out. They both realized at the same time that Draco was going to hug him. Which of course, Draco wasn't going to do now that he'd realized that's what his first reaction had been. Instead, he planted both hands on Harry's shoulders and looked him over, even giving him a little shake.

"Alright?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah. I almost got a little too intimate with the pavement for my taste, but I think I'll live. You?"

"Me?" Draco looked down at himself, realizing that his clothes were torn and he was bleeding slightly from the knee. "Fine. Nothing serious."

"Good. Quick thinking with that spell. I think you might have saved my life."

"Well it only seemed fair since I'm the reason you were catapulted through the window."

"Yeah, speaking of that, remind me never to piss you off. If that's how much power you can put out without even meaning to, I don't ever want to see what you're capable of when you put your mind to it."

Draco was spared replying when the door opened and Henry Henry poked his balding head in. "Everything alright in here?"

"Yes, everything's fine. Minor mishap with a tracer spell, but no harm done." Harry waved his wand at the window to repair the broken glass as if to make his point.

"Good good then. I knew this room would be useful. _Do_ try not to blow up the whole building, won't you boys?"

"You've got it, Henry," Draco said with a salute. He gave a little salute back and then pulled the door shut. Both Harry and Draco let out a relieved breath and then started laughing.

That night, Harry was packing his papers and books into his satchel when Draco cleared his throat awkwardly behind him. Harry turned and looked over his partner somewhat appraisingly while waiting for him to speak. Draco scowled, opened his mouth, then closed it. He opened it again with an even deeper scowl.

"I suppose it's the least I can do to buy you a drink after what happened today." He growled the words as if he was insulting Harry rather than inviting him out for a pint. Harry stared at him in shock.

"Um...I don't think that's a good idea." Harry chose his words carefully, but Draco was still offended. He crossed his arms and glared, feeling foolish for the small prick of hurt that struck him.

"Fine, whatever." He turned and started back to his own desk. The rejection was made all the more sharp because he'd just started to believe that maybe Harry truly did like him. "Didn't want to go round the pub with you anyhow," he muttered angrily.

Harry blanched, knowing despite Draco's careful facade, he'd hurt his partner. Harry came up behind him and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Draco started and looked over his shoulder at Harry. Then he glared at the hand until Harry moved it. "I just mean that I usually try not to drink in public."

"What, can't hold your liquor?" Draco sneered. The sting of rejection made the words harsher than he'd meant them to sound. Harry glared at him and started to turn away.

"Cripes, I only wanted to explain. If you're going to be a prat about it then forget it."

This time it was Draco who stopped Harry. He heaved a dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes.

"_Soooo_ sorry to have offended your delicate sensibilities, Potter. Do _ever so kindly_ explain why you can't have a pint in the pub if you aren't a total lightweight." He lifted one blonde brow and waited to see if his antics would pay off. Harry's lips twitched up into a small smile.

"Prat," he said good naturedly. "The reason I don't drink in public is to avoid another Boxing Day disaster."

"You have some aversion to Boxing Day?"

"You've got to be kidding. Are you telling me that you didn't read about it? It was all over the paper!"

"I try not to read the Daily Prophet if I can't help it," Draco sniffed haughtily. "Bunch of rubbish if you ask me." Harry laughed.

"I tend to agree with you, especially after last year. Ron and I went out for a drink on Boxing Day. Not to get totally pissed or anything, just for one drink. Some tosser bumped into Ron while he was trying to take a drink and he spilled his beer all down his shirt. Ron turned to cuss the guy out and things got heated. The guy was totally wasted, and seemed to think that brawling would be a great idea. You know Ron, he would have kicked the bloke's arse. So I paid for our drinks and pulled him out the door."

"So? Sounds like a pretty average night," Draco commented. "A waste of perfectly good beer, but nothing so calamitous as you made it sound."

"Well that's the problem. It really _wasn't_ that bad. Until the next morning when we found out that there had been a reporter in the pub looking for an easy story. He'd taken a picture of Ron and the drunk about to fight, and then another one of me pulling Ron out of the pub. The headline read, **"Pub Fight Leads to Midnight Tryst Between 2/3ds of Golden Trio (But Not the Two You'd Expect!)."**

Draco stared at Harry in complete and utter shock. Then he burst out laughing. Real, honest to goodness, hold your stomach, double over and gasp laughter. Harry scowled at him.

"Oh...my..." Draco gasped and tried to catch his breath through more laughter. "Can't believe...I missed that...article! I'd have...paid money!...to see that!" He broke down into a another fit of laughter and Harry thumped him on the back of the head. Finally Draco's laughter subsided and he was able to straighten up. He rubbed the back of his head where Harry had smacked him. "Holy hell, Potter, you just can't get out of the spotlight, can you?" Harry continued to glare at Draco.

"Its not as if I have any desire for it," Harry said through gritted teeth.

"For once, I believe you." He snickered again. "I can only imagine the scandal – Harry Potter, gay! You must have been furious!"

"I don't care what the fuck they say about my sexuality," Harry said angrily. "I was pissed off that I couldn't go into a pub with my friend and have one damn drink without it making the front page!" He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "The point is, that I don't drink in public any more." Draco smiled and clapped a hand on Harry's back.

"The place I had in mind isn't exactly public," he said conspiratorially. "And I promise to beat up any reporters that dare to snap pictures of you."

Harry raised a brow. "I figured you more for the 'hex you and your dog' type than the 'beat em up' type."

"Eh, you're right. I lean more towards subtlety on most occasions. Brain over brawn and all that. But I'll make an exception for you tonight." He flashed a wicked grin at Harry. After another moment's thought, Harry nodded.

"Alright. One drink then. Where did you have in mind?"

"That's my little secret, Potter."

_**Sorry again all, hopefully this made up for a bit though! Another chapter will be up very soon, hopefully in the next few days! Also, I don't want anyone to think I've stopped responding to all my reviews and PMs. I haven't abandoned you, people! I'm a bit behind on my responses, but I promise that I will get back to you all! Thank you thank you thank you for all the support! It means the world to me!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Twenty minutes later, Draco and Harry were walking down a dark alley that seemed utterly deserted. They were in a part of London that Harry had never seen before. He glanced around somewhat uncomfortably.

"You know, if you brought me here to kill me, I think Ginny'll take great pleasure in avenging me."

"Yeah, like I'm afraid of the littlest Weasley," Draco scoffed but barely suppressed a shudder. He'd seen Ginny in action and had no desire to go up against her again. "Fortunately for your little girlfriend, I haven't brought you out here to dispose of you." He turned to his left about three quarters down the alley and drew an S shape on the wall with his wand. Immediately the wall shifted, sliding aside to reveal a shiny dark green door. Harry stared at it curiously and Draco opened it with a smirk.

The door lead to a somewhat dark pub. Low music floated through the air mingled with smoke that was sucked up magically to a ventilation shaft. The few inhabitants didn't look up when they stepped inside, though the bartender glanced over and nodded at Draco. They stepped inside and took seats at the bar.

"Draco, haven't I told you to stop bringing riffraff into my pub?"

"Blaise? Blaise Zabini?" Harry stared at the dark skinned man incredulously.

"You look like a codfish Potter. Close your trap before it starts gathering dust."

"Now now boys, play nice." Draco flipped a Galleon at Blaise, who caught it without looking away from Harry. "We just want a drink, Blaise. I nearly killed the golden boy today, so I've brought him to the best pub in all of London to make amends."

Blaise looked somewhat mollified by the flattery and grabbed two pint glasses.

"In all of England," Blaise muttered. When Draco waved his hand in agreement, Blaise took their glasses to the tap. "What are you drinking?" he asked.

"The usual."

"And _wonderboy_?" Blaise sneered the word at Harry. Before Harry could say anything, Draco cut in.

"Same for him, Blaise. Though we could use a few forks to work our way through the teenage bullshit you're serving." He spoke so smoothly that Harry almost missed the insult. Blaise's hand tightened on the glasses so hard that Harry was afraid he'd shatter them.

"Shove it, Draco," he muttered angrily as he slammed their drinks down in front of them. Beer foamed up and spilled over the sides of their glasses.

"Oh, cap your pisser, Blaise. I'll bring you a new ousting spell on Monday for your trouble." Draco removed his beer from the pile of foam and waited for Blaise to wipe the counter. At the mention of the ousting spell, he'd brightened considerably and wiped the counter obligingly. Though Harry noticed that he didn't do nearly so good of a job on Harry's part of the counter as he did on Draco's.

"That's right you will," Blaise said confidently, flashing Draco a rather sinister smile. Draco smirked back and waved the bartender away. Once he was out of earshot, Harry lowered his voice and turned to Draco.

"So...what the bloody hell just happened?" He gestured to Blaise, to the beer in front of him, and then to the whole pub. Draco took extreme pleasure in watching Potter flail about like a fish out of water. When it seemed Harry's antics were finished, he sighed dramatically.

"The pub belongs to Blaise. You remember the train ride our sixth year?"

Harry rubbed his nose unconsciously, recalling how Draco had smashed his face after putting him in a body bind. He glowered at the memory.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Hey, don't get twitchy. I mean before you tried to play spy. I'm sure you heard how rich his mum is."

"Something about money her husbands left her, right? And you said something along the lines of 'suspicious circumstances' about their deaths."

"Don't mention that to him unless you want him to poison your drinks," Draco chuckled.

"No, once is enough for me." Harry shook his head soundly and Draco grimaced at the memory.

"Well anyways, after he finished school, the two of them traveled the world a bit, him and his mum. Then last year they settled in London again. Blaise opened up the pub, though I think he did it mostly as a way to meet birds if you ask me. The man's got higher standards than anyone has a right to. Though he did think your Weasley was quite the looker if I recall correctly." Draco grinned at Harry and Harry flipped him the bird good naturedly.

"So now he runs a pub and only lets in Slytherins?"

"Not necessarily," Draco said with a shrug. "He just likes to keep out the 'rabble' as he calls them."

"I'm rabble?"

"To him you are."

"Draco Malfoy, did you take me to a pureblood supremicist bar?"

"Would I do that?" Draco blinked at him innocently. Harry looked practically outraged. "Oh calm down. You're not supporting the pureblood cause just by having a pint. You wanted quiet and unnoticed, and I provided. Now say, 'thank you Draco,' and we can move on."

Harry glared at him and rolled his eyes. "Thank you Draco," he repeated back like a faulty robot.

"There now, see that wasn't so hard." Draco grinned.

"I think I'm dying," Harry coughed dramatically. Draco only laughed and slapped him on the back.

"Don't be such a twat. Drink your beer. There's mischief to be made tonight!"

* * *

The next morning, Harry walked to his desk slowly, one small step at a time. He squinted against the lights and winced when anyone spoke too loudly.

"Hangover, Potter?" Draco asked loudly and clapped a hand on Harry's back. Harry cringed and put his hands over his ears.

"Cripes, not so loud!"

"Why, what's the matter? Have too much to drink last night?" Draco laughed and Harry sat heavily in his chair.

"You know damn well that I did. Thanks to you. What the bloody hell were those shots of, anyways?"

"Demon's Brew. Its about ten times stronger than whiskey."

"You've got to be kidding." Harry ran his hand through his hair and then down over his face tiredly. "At least I didn't do anything too stupid."

"Well, not unless you count dancing on the bar stupid."

"WHAT?!" Harry stared incredulously at Draco. The blonde only laughed.

"Ok, ok, fine you weren't on the bar. But you did do a little jig while we were on some moving monstrosity you called 'the tube.' It was really quite amusing."

"The tube? We were on the tube?"

"You insisted that if we weren't apparating, which I knew we were both too inebriated for, that the tube was the safest way for us to reach our homes. Then we spent the next several hours riding in an enormous metal contraption while you tried to remember where you lived."

"My humiliation is complete," Harry said, dropping his head into his hands. Draco only smiled. All in all, it had been a rather good night for him. Getting Potter drunk had been quite the undertaking, despite Draco's jokes about him being a light weight. But Demon's Brew would have knocked even a man as big as Victor Crum on his arse after three shots.

Draco had learned that Potter was quite affectionate when drunk. By the time they left the pub, he had his arm slung around Draco's shoulders and had already told him twice, 'you're a great partner, d'ya know that?' It was something Draco could stand to hear a few more times even after the drunken night. It was still hard for him to accept that not only did Potter respect him, but he actually liked him. All his life, Draco had gotten the impression that no one really liked him. Not really. They liked his father's status. They liked his money. They liked the popularity that being seen with him would bring them. But he'd never really felt that they liked _him._

Potter, though... Harry didn't put on any pretenses. He was tactful, sure, but he had no qualms about being honest with his opinions. If he didn't like someone, he'd tell them. To their face. Up front. It was such a Gryffindor trait. So why did Draco find himself respecting it? And he couldn't help but be grateful for it, or else he might never be able to truly believe that Harry actually liked him.

It was novel. It was...empowering. The whole thing was strange and new to him. Harry Potter, the man who had unknowingly become Draco Malfoy's best friend. And now it seemed that Harry considered Draco a friend as well. By the end of their drunken night (and Draco still wasn't sure it just hadn't been the liquor talking) Draco had been ready to admit that Harry meant a lot to him. More than he'd ever be willing to tell anyone else. But when he'd dropped Harry off at his door in the wee hours of the morning, he'd told Harry. It had helped that he knew Harry wouldn't remember a single thing when he woke up in the morning, but he said it. And Harry had only grinned drunkenly and hugged him.

Hugged him. Put his arms around him and hugged him.

While he'd taken great delight in tormenting Harry while the man was dealing with a hangover, part of Draco's mood that morning had been bravado. Because inside, he was panicked. The problem was that Harry's drunken, wobbly hug had meant more to Draco than anyone could ever know. It had been sobering enough that Draco had apparated himself home safely and then laid in bed staring at the ceiling for another hour before he slept. Wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Wondering why the hell he'd wanted to wrap his arms around Harry Potter and never let go.

* * *

Their tracer spell the day before hadn't been a total failure, they found out. Unexpectedly, it had come back to them as they sat at their desk. The results were somewhat skewed, and they made little sense to Draco, but after showing them to Snape they discovered that the dark curse -whatever it was- was being fueled from somewhere in London. It wasn't much, but it was a start. They made copies of all their notes and left them with Snape to analyze further.

Two days after that, Draco became convinced he'd gone mad.

He stared at the empty space in front of his desk. He could have sworn that just a second ago, Severus Snape had appeared in front of him, looking merrily disheveled and carrying a bundle of papers. He looked over to Harry, who had his head bent over his parchment. Should he ask Harry if he'd see the ex professor as well? Perhaps not. He didn't need Potter thinking he'd gone mad. After all, Severus Snape was never disheveled, and certainly was never merry. For Severus Snape to be the two together was a statistical impossibility. No, Draco was hallucinating. He'd finally lost it and gone nutters. But he'd be damned if he admitted it to Potter, despite their new found...closeness? Granger had seemed to think they were friends when he'd gone to see her, so he knew it wasn't just in his head. Not that he could call her Granger any more. And he certainly wasn't calling her Snape now. So he would have to start calling her Hermione all the time. That would be tricky adjusting to. He scratched his chin and wondered how long he could be round the bend before anyone in the Auror's office noticed. Maybe he could get Granger-Snape-Hermione to whip him up some kind of non-nutter-noticing charm. She'd seemed friendly after the last time they'd spoken. A bit off, but friendly. And there was no denying she was bright. If she'd helped the House Elves, she would certainly help him. He was carefully wording an owl to Hermione in his head about the creation of a non-nutter-noticing charm when Snape appeared before him again. Draco stared, then shook his head.

Damn hallucinations. He'd need that charm, and soon. He went back to writing the note out in his head. The hallucination took a step towards him. He politely ignored it. The hallucination looked at him, puzzled, then glared. Draco pretended it wasn't there. The hallucination turned to Harry.

"Potter, is there a reason your partner seems to have lost his senses?" Severus' voice drawled out even though there was excitement laced in his tone. Harry looked up.

"Professor! Er- Snape." He stood and held out his hand. Draco watched, slightly taken aback that Potter was welcoming the hallucination. Harry cleared his throat and elbowed Draco. He jerked his head at Snape and gave Draco a sharp look. It clearly said, _what the hell, mate_? Draco suddenly stood up and addressed the hallucination/possibly real Snape.

"Severus," he said, still trying to see if he'd retained his senses. Severus glared at him.

"Did you think I was a ghost?" Severus asked him.

"Hallucination, actually," Draco quipped honestly. Severus cocked a brow at him, then dismissed it, clearly too excited about the papers in his hand to care that his former student had gone utterly daft. Harry shot Draco a questioning look, but said nothing.

"I have some information that I believe will aid us both," Severus said quickly. "I just discovered," He stopped and smiled again. Draco and Harry exchanged a look. Snape...smiling? Maybe they were _both _hallucinating. "Actually, my wife discovered it," he corrected with no small note of pride. The Aurors were still looking at each other and their eyes bulged. Harry mouthed the words _my wife?_ and looked incredulous. Then again, Harry hadn't been the one who'd nearly had his bum busted because he'd been caught kissing Hermione, so he probably didn't know quite how close Hermione and her husband had become. "The point," he continued, regaining their attention, "is that I believe there is a connection between the curse you two have been chasing, and the blood curse I have been researching. And I believe we can not only prove it, but counteract it."

Harry and Draco stared at him like codfish out of water. Severus smirked at their shock and felt his chest expand once again with pride at Hermione's discovery. Bloody brilliant. She really was. From now on he'd be sure to tell her that every day. He shook his head and smiled again. He held out the two papers he'd brought with him and showed the Aurors. Harry immediately saw the connection and he and Severus started talking about what it meant and what they could do. Draco, while being fairly brilliant himself, took a moment to realize that the notes he'd just given Severus that morning about the tracer spell results, matched exactly with a genetic flow pattern chart. It took him another moment to realize that the curse he and Potter had been tracking had gotten results from a modified tracer spell that looked exactly like a genetic flow because it was passing through the population genetically. The curse they had been investigating affected everyone, and the reason it only effected the women and births was that the combining of the genes together to make a child produced a dominant gene that produced squib children and many stillbirths. The blood curse wasn't directed at women, it only seemed to affect them more because the gene was recessive on its own. Only when combined together in the production of a child would it be deadly.

"Then this proves that its not Muggleborns causing the birth problems!" Draco felt the need to be part of the conversation. Harry looked up at him, surprised.

"Uh...yeah, Draco."

"Well then lets just go break the curse and everything will go back to normal again." It seemed simple to him. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Are you forgetting, Draco, that there is someone out there fueling this curse and making it spread more quickly than it normally would have? And if they are capable of doing such a thing then they are a force to be reckoned with. Also, just breaking the curse won't change the law. We will need proof that this curse is the cause of the problems, as well as evidence that once the curse is broken the birth rates will return to normal."

"Oh." Draco thought about this. "Well I'm sure we can take on whoever is fueling the curse. If you're right, they aren't even the ones who cast the curse. We can handle it. And then we will force them to confess." He rubbed his hands together and grinned.

"Were this a Muggle spy movie, then yes that is exactly how it would work. You would storm in to save the day, the villain would admit everything and be dragged off to Azkaban and you would ride off into the sunset with a beautiful damsel. However we are not living in a Bond film." Draco raised a questioning brow at the mention of 'bond' but when he glanced to Harry, Harry shook his head subtly. Draco would extricate an answer later. It sounded like a film worth seeing to him... "So instead we will have to do actual _work_ to get anything done." Snape glowered at Draco. "You_ are_ capable of that, are you not?" Draco smothered his glower and nodded instead. He knew that without the ex professor's help, they wouldn't have gotten nearly this far. It struck him as a little odd that Snape would work so hard on finding an answer that would most likely dissolve his marriage to the wife he so obviously loved. He shook his head and let the thought go. Snape was one odd duck, and there was no way to know what his motivations were.

"What do you suggest, _Professor_?" Draco felt the words trip off his tongue almost as sharply as he felt Potter's foot connect with his shin. He said "ow!" loudly and glared at Potter. Harry looked exasperated. Not that Draco blamed him. Snape really had helped them out a great deal, and it hadn't been smart to mock him about his former profession in the same breath he was asking for help from the man. "I mean, Snape," he mumbled ruefully.

Severus' eyes flashed, but he chose to refrain from removing Draco's blonde hair from his head and attaching it close to the end of his large intestine. There simply wasn't time to do it justice. Though if he ever again caught Draco with his lips near Hermione's, a blonde tail might be just the thing...

"Obviously, you and Mister Potter will continue to trace the person who is fueling the curse, and I will take this new information and use to it to try and track the source of the curse. It is supposed to be untraceable, but with this new information, I might be able to piece something together."

"No bad guys to go out and beat to a pulp?"

"No, Draco. Not as of yet." There was a slight smirk playing on Severus' lips. "Do you think you can corral your trigger happy apprentice long enough to track down the source of the fueling power, Potter?" Harry nodded and thanked the ex professor while Draco looked around for a Muggle firearm. He was disappointed when he didn't see one anywhere. How could he be 'trigger happy' without any triggers? It really wasn't nice of Snape to tease him with talk of triggers. He'd always wanted to use a Muggle gun...

_**Hope you enjoyed it, next chapter up soon! Don't give up on me yet, folks...the real plot is only getting started!**_


	6. Chapter 6

Harry and Draco were having more trouble finding whoever was powering the curse than Severus and Hermione had in finding who'd been the cause of it. Whoever it was knew enough to cover their tracks. They also didn't seem to be staying in any one location.

Draco still huffed when Harry referred to the culprit as 'them,' because they'd gotten into a row about whether the person fueling the curse was a wizard or a witch. Draco was convinced it was a wizard, not simply because of chauvinism, but also because of statistics. Witches statistically didn't express their anger this way. They poisoned their husbands or hexed their boyfriends, not global cursing. When Harry had pointed out that Bellatrix certainly would have powered such a curse, Draco wasted no time in saying that Bellatrix was dead and thank rutting Ravenclaw there was only one Bellatrix in the world. Harry still insisted that it was sloppy work and dangerous to boot for them to disregard half the population simply because of statistics.

They poured over the parchments that had any information relating to the residual dark magic but still couldn't find any leads. Finally, frustrated and still secretly hoping he would get to use a muggle firearm before the case was over, Draco suggested they get out of the office and start a physical search rather than follow the paper trail. Harry tiredly agreed, simply because he was out of other ideas.

After stopping at a cafe to pick up lunch (at which Draco confounded the muggle waitress by ordering pumpkin juice and Harry swiftly told the flummoxed young woman that it was a new health craze and Draco was a health nut) they walked down Florin street and watched people pass by. It was technically a street in the muggle part of town, but they were close enough to Diagon alley and the ministry that there were several witches and wizards in the crowd. After they'd been walking for twenty minutes, all of which Draco eyed every passerby with narrowed, suspicious eyes, Harry stopped and threw his hands up in disgust.

"This is hopeless, Draco. We aren't just going to see our culprit coming down the street wearing a sign that says, 'arrest me, I'm the bad guy!'"

"Ah, so you finally admit its a guy!" Draco pointed to the sky triumphantly. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Badgal just doesn't have the same ring."

"Neither does Badperson. Or Bad-magical-being-of-undetermined-sex. Maybe we should shorten that. BMBOUS. Heh, it sounds kind of like bimbos! Maybe you're right, Potter. Maybe its a whole group of ditzy blonds. Bimbos!" He laughed and slapped Harry on the back.

"You're blonde," Harry pointed out drolly. Draco gasped and pointed his wand at Harry without any real malice.

"You watch it, Potter. No cracks about my hair color! No blonde jokes, either. You remember the rules!"

"Hey, you're the one who brought it up," Harry said calmly. He plucked Draco's wand from his fingers and tucked it up his sleeve before any muggles could see it and call for the men in white coats to come and take them away.

"My wand!" Draco said indignantly.

"Are you _trying_ to get us committed?" Harry sighed in exasperation. "We are in muggle London, Draco. You can't go around waving your wand and talking about curses out loud. How many times have I told you that?"

"What, its not my fault they are all magically challenged. They should take that up with their gods or goddesses of choice. Though I have been called a blonde god before..."

"You've got to be bloody kidding me," Harry muttered.

"Don't be jealous, Potter. I know the 'Chosen One' isn't nearly as awesome as 'blonde god,' but we work with what we are given. I won't hold it against you."

"If I hear you say blonde god one more time I'm going to charm your hair permanently red."

"You wouldn't!" Draco was aghast.

"Oh yes I would. Then you'd look more like a Weasley than a Malfoy," Harry snickered. Draco paled and clutched his hair.

"You're evil, Potter. You keep your wand to yourself. If I see even one single strand of red in my hair I'm coming after you. I know where you sleep!" He pulled down his hair on his forehead and crossed his eyes trying to see it and make sure it was still blonde.

"Oh relax, Draco, I haven't done anything to your precious hair yet. But no more talk of deities."

They continued walking for several more blocks before Draco spotted a flier for handgun safety classes. He stopped and dragged Harry over to it. As he stared excitedly at the bright pink flier, Harry tapped his foot impatiently.

"You do realize that firearms are illegal in Great Britan, don't you?"

"What? Why?"

"Um...because they kill people?"

"Unless these are more magical than I was led to believe, guns don't kill people, people kill people."

"Yeah, well that may be true, but if someone is going to try to kill me, I'd rather they not have an automatic firearm at their disposal for the job."

"Would you rather face a deranged muggle with a gun or a pissed off Death Eater with his wand at the ready?" Draco finally dropped the sarcasm in his voice, actually interested in Harry's answer. Harry pondered it for a moment and then finally decided.

"Death Eater," he said.

"Why?"

"I guess its just 'the devil you know,' and all that. I know how to block unfriendly spells. I'm not sure I'd be able to block a bullet."

"That's just boring. Guns are way cooler than simple spells. Sometimes muggles have all the fun."

"Most muggles would kill to be able to use magic like you and I do," Harry scoffed at Draco's comment.

"I'd kill _you_ if it would get me a gun," Draco remarked with a shrug. Harry shot him a look and saw Draco's wicked grin.

"Git," Harry mildly returned.

"Maybe, but at least I'm not a ginger or a scar face," Draco lightly flicked Harry's forehead.

"That was below the belt," Harry griped.

"Yeah yeah. Don't be such a Gryffindor. Us Slytherin's know how to take a joke. You could learn a thing or two from me, Potter."

"I'm not sure I want to know whatever you can teach me, Draco."

"You say that now, but just wait. I'll wear you down."

"You already wear me down," Harry quipped. Draco laughed and Harry cracked a smile as well.

After another twenty minutes of fruitless ambling about, Harry suggested they find a secluded area and try the modified tracer spell again. Draco agreed happily, ready for any kind of action to start. They found what appeared to be a closed and abandoned pub and Harry set to work. Draco joined in and together they finished setting up the spell in only a few minutes. (This time focusing carefully to prevent any explosions.) When it was ready, they sent the tracer spell out and sat themselves down on rickety stools while they waited for it to come back.

"So...you and the Weaselette, how's that working out?" Draco asked casually after they'd been sitting for a few minutes in silence.

"Call her the Weaselette again and I'll hex your bollocks to permanently inhabit your chin," Harry replied conversationally. Draco shrugged but filed the threat away for future use. "And its going well, I think. We get along, and I'm practically one of the family already. Plus she's into Quidditch. What more could I ask for in a girl?" He grinned and Draco rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, don't bother with personality or looks as long as she's into Quidditch," Draco said sarcastically. Harry reddened slightly and cleared his throat.

"Shut it, Draco. You know she's beautiful. And she's funny and kind and-"

"You're going to make my ears bleed with all this mushy crap," Draco complained.

"Hey, you asked," Harry grumbled. "Hey, are you still seeing that bird from the Department of Ministries?"

"Nah, she wasn't my type."

"Not your type? What was she? Too tall, too gorgeous, too blonde?"

"Cripes, Potter, its not like she was Merlin's gift to men. Just not my type." Draco glared at Harry till Harry shrugged and let it drop. A few minutes later the tracer spell came back and Harry summoned a piece of parchment and started the recording process. In another half an hour they had another pattern chart similar to the first one. It wasn't exactly the same, however, which gave them hope that maybe this one could be used as a map of sorts. They left the abandoned pub and started trying to figure out what the markings on the parchment meant in terms of directions.

Three hours later they were standing in a side street off of Knockturn alley. After doing a few spells they were able to find heavy amounts of lingering dark magic. Convinced this was where the wizard (or witch) they were after had been to renew the spell recently, they spread out and looked for clues. Harry muttered something about a great Dane and a mystery machine which Draco took to be simple babbling. Harry did that occasionally, rambling about such things as a python named Monty, or Mel's brook – whatever that was. Draco usually ignored these ramblings, preferring to let his partner go nutters without any interference from him. When Harry called him "Freddy," Draco coolly informed his partner that he would answer to Draco or Malfoy and no other names. Harry replied, "jinkeys, Draco, don't get your knickers in a twist." Draco was about to make some disparaging remark about his choice of expletive when he noticed something that made his blood run cold. In the dirt that covered the uneven stones that made up the street, he saw almost a dozen small, round circles. They were less than an inch across and perfectly circular. They weren't made by any animal tracks, nor could they have been a natural phenomenon. Draco only knew of one thing that made marks like that in the dirt. He swallowed hard and pushed the thought from his mind. With a small wordless spell, a breeze came down the alley and washed away all traces of the marks.

Draco lay in bed that night staring up at the ceiling. He thought about what he'd seen in the alley. He thought about what he'd done, blowing the dust away and removing all traces of them. He felt like a traitor. Like he'd turned his back on Harry. Of course it was always possible that the marks hadn't been what he'd thought they were. It could be a mistake. Or they could have belonged to someone else. It didn't have to be what he feared. He consoled himself with that possibility. _Excused_ it with that possibility. Because the truth was too difficult to bear.

Severus opened his door a few days later to find a disheveled and panicked looking Harry Potter standing at front step. "Potter?" He was so surprised that he said the name without any of his usual venom. Harry ran a hand over his face. Before he could speak, Hermione came rushing up behind Severus and stopped in shock at the sight of her friend.

"Harry? Whats the matter? Are you alright?" She reached out to pull him into the house and waved an impatient wand at the wards. Once Harry was inside, Hermione rushed to get him a cup of tea and pushed him into a chair. "Harry what's wrong?"

"I...I figured out who is fueling the curse," he said, somewhat dazed.

"What? That's a good thing, isn't it?" Hermione knelt in front of him, oblivious to Severus' black look.

"No, its not. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Why don't you start by telling us who it is," Severus drawled, fighting the urge to pull Hermione up off of her knees and away from Potter. Harry looked up at Severus and his eyes cleared a little. He took a deep breath.

"Its Lucius Malfoy," he said in a low, strained tone. Hermione gasped and her wide eyes flew up to Severus'. His hand tightened to the breaking point on his mug. It shattered and shards of porcelain and scalding tea rained down. He swore and swiftly vanished the mess before he started pacing the room, fighting the urge to go out and find the elder Malfoy and beat him within an inch of his life.

"How did your partner take the news?" Severus asked through gritted teeth. Harry looked away from him.

"I haven't told him."

"What?" Hermione gasped. "Harry you have to tell him!"

"The first sign of difficulty and you are doubting your partner's loyalty?" Severus' voice was icy. "Do your prejudices really run so deep, Potter?" Harry rose to his feet swiftly and stood toe to toe with Severus.

"I'm not doubting him!"

"Then what? Do you think him so weak that he can't take it?"

"He shouldn't have to!" Harry took a few deep breaths and fought the urge to scream at his ex professor. "It killed him to find out what his father tried to do to Hermione. What do you think it will do to him to find out that his father has been aiding in the murder of babies and the enslavement of all Muggleborns?" Harry slumped back into his chair and ran his hand through his messy hair. "I can't do that to him."

Snape stared at Harry for a moment as if seeing through him. Then he pulled Hermione close to him and wrapped his arms around her, his chest to her back. Both Harry and Hermione were surprised. After a moment, Hermione smiled and melted back against Severus, unaware of what had prompted the embrace but enjoying it none the less. Harry stared for a moment, watching his friend wrapped in the arms of the ex professor. She looked so small next to him, delicate and slender. They had been friends for so long that sometimes Harry forgot just how feminine and beautiful Hermione was. Next to Severus she looked...complete. And she looked_happy_. Harry only had one brief moment to think on the funny way the universe had of righting itself, before Severus spoke again.

"You can't keep this from him, Potter. You do him a disservice by giving him a beautiful lie rather than the honest truth. Draco will recover from this blow just as he as recovered from every other blow he's been dealt."

"Its just..."

"Unfair? I believe I told you once before that life isn't fair. Its as true now as it was then. We do what we can with what we have."

"Your faith in him will help him get through this, Harry," Hermione interjected. "If you try and hide it from him he will assume that you didn't trust him to do the right thing. That would hurt him terribly."

"Damned if I do and damned if I don't," Harry murmured. Then he squared his shoulders. "I guess there's no avoiding it. I'll tell him this morning and we will go arrest Lucius this afternoon. Hermione, stay here until this is all over. Lucius has been after you from the very beginning. If somehow he catches wind of this, he might come after you."

"I won't let her leave the house," Severus cut in. "No one can get through these wards without being invited in from the outside."

"Thank you," Harry said softly. He looked up at Severus and their eyes met. "Not just for the advice. For everything. For doing what you did to protect us, and for protecting Hermione now." He held his hand out to Severus. For a moment, Severus only looked at the proffered hand. Then he gripped it with his own and they shook.

"I don't require your thanks, Potter." He paused and then added, "but they are appreciated none the less." With a small smile, Harry released his hand and turned to the door.

"Be careful, Harry." Hermione left the circle of Severus' arms to hug her friend.

"I always am," he said with a grin.

Harry reported to his superiors when he arrived back at the Ministry. He did this for two reasons. First was because it was protocol. Second, because once he told his boss, he had no choice but to tell his partner. Word traveled up through the ministry quickly. Now that he had left himself with no other option, Harry went to their desk and found Draco. He was right where Harry had left him, going through old paperwork and grumbling about how much easier filing would be if they were allowed house elves. Any other time, Harry would have mentioned Dobby and the two of them would have reminisced about the house elf's antics. But this time he only tightened his jaw and braced himself.

"Draco."

Draco looked up from the filing. "Finally!" He let out a breath and tossed down the papers he was holding. "Save me from the tedium, Potter. I'm going crazy here. I need a bad guy to chase. I wasn't cut out for paperwork." He trailed off at the look on Harry's face. "Potter? What's the matter?"

"I, uh, I've got some news. Why don't you come with me?" He turned without waiting to hear Draco's reply and headed to the room reserved for spells. He didn't think Draco would blow anything up, but he also knew that Draco liked to keep his emotions close to the vest and he didn't need an audience when he heard the news about his father. They went into the room and Harry closed the door.

"What's going on? You've led me in here as if you're going to tell me my favorite puppy died." Draco tried for laughter but Harry only shook his head.

"Let's sit down."

"No, let's not." Panic was starting to edge into Draco's voice. "Tell me what's going on. Now."

"Draco." Harry went to his partner and put his hand on his shoulder. "I've had a break in the case."

"The residual case?" Draco stiffened.

"Yeah. Listen, I don't want you to think I'm being malicious, or to think that I'm jumping to conclusions. I've done the leg work on this. I'm one hundred percent positive. I wouldn't be saying anything to you if I wasn't."

"Potter..." Draco's tone was that of final warning.

"It's your father."

"What?"

"Fueling the curse. The blood curse causing the stillbirths and squibs. Its Lucius. I'm sorry Draco." There weren't any words to say. Draco stumbled back and sat heavily in the chair. He buried his face in his hands and tried to calm his racing heart. "I promise you Draco, I didn't want this to be the answer. I tried looking for any other explanation. But you've got to believe me, it's him."

"I know," Draco whispered."

"You- you what?" Harry stared at Draco, shocked.

"I know. I know it's him."

"How?"

"Back in Knockturn alley. There were marks on the ground. Whoever was fueling the curse had enchanted their shoes to leave no prints...but they forgot their walking stick. I saw the marks in the dust. I didn't tell you."

"Draco..."

"I didn't want to think that it was possible. I tried to convince myself that maybe it wasn't him. I mean, he's not the only person in the world with a cane, right? That's how I rationalized it." He looked up at Harry and his eyes were red and shining. "I couldn't tell you. I...I'm sorry Harry."

Harry's heart twisted. He went to his knees in front of Draco and met his eyes dead on. "I don't blame you," he said evenly.

"What?" Draco's breath caught and he blinked rapidly.

"I don't blame you," Harry repeated. "I understand that you didn't want to believe the worst about your father. Anyone would have done the same."

"I tampered with evidence."

"Yes. You did. But I think that just this once, even someone like Moody would have made an exception. I'm going to talk to Henry Henry and ask him to temporarily give me another partner. And when all this is done, we don't ever have to mention this again."

"But- wait, what? A new partner?"

"Just until..." Harry trailed off, unwilling to say 'until your father is in Azkaban.' "Just for a little while. Then things can go back to the way they were."

"_No._"

"Draco..."

"No. Unless you force me to, I'm not sitting this one out."

"No one expects you to arrest your own father, Draco."

"I've done enough covering for him. I didn't do anything when he said he was going to show up at Hermione's petition hearing, and look at the mess he caused then. I didn't do anything when he was having Hermione tortured at the manor- Merlin I owe her more apologies than I can give, that girl seems to bear the brunt of every mistake I make. But I'm not letting this one go. I'm done standing by and making excuses for him. I'm coming with you." He stood up and so did Harry. "Besides," he added with a sad smile, "You're going to need my help finding him."

_**Dun dun dun... Hope you liked it everyone! Before anyone goes on any rants about the whole gun control issue, please just let me say that I am totally neuteral on the issue and fanfiction isn't the place to express political opinions, so please no fights!**_

_**Thank you all for reading and pretty please leave me a review to let me know what you thought!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**LTL summary: Everything in this chapter explains itself except for the reference to Ron's 'Bunny money,' which is talking about Ron's fortune which he made by inventing a potion that turns spiders into bunnies as well as a whole line of accompanying products including a book called 'Finding your Inner Bunny: a guide to Arachnophobia."**_

**Chapter 7**

The manor was deserted. It was as much as Draco expected. Lucius had friends everywhere. People who owed him a favor, people who's back's he'd scratched at one point who he could intimidate into scratching his. Someone must have tipped him off that they were onto him. But Draco knew all his father's hiding places. It was only a matter of picking the right one.

They spent hours going from place to place, searching for him. Most of Lucius' hiding places were well hidden and hard to access. They were all protected from being apparated into. Several were only reached by portkey.

By two in the morning Harry and Draco were filthy and exhausted. Neither said a word about halting the search, though. Harry was unwilling to leave Lucius out in the world when he might be targeting Hermione. And Draco wouldn't rest until it was finished. One way or another, he wanted this madness with his father ended.

The location they were headed to was only accessible by a small boat. The island was remote, totally isolated. They'd been able to apparate about a mile away from the lake but had to hike the rest of the way in. As if to confirm Draco's worst fears, the boat was across the lake at the little island.

"He's here," he whispered to Harry. A summoning spell brought the boat back to their side of the shore and they wordlessly climbed in. Harry sent off the charm requesting back up as they set off across the water. He didn't know how hard Lucius would fight to keep from going to Azkaban, but he didn't want to take any chances. They rowed silently and were almost across the lake when Harry's oar struck a rock. The dull thud echoed around the still air. They froze, both holding their breath, hoping against hope that Lucius hadn't heard them.

A full minute later, just when they were both convinced they were safe, Lucius spotted them.

"_Expellarmius!_" Harry sent the spell towards the figure on the island, but Lucius had already shot a curse at the boat. It rocked dangerously.

"_Stupefy!_" Draco's spell flashed through the night air and missed Lucius only by centimeters. The next spell Lucius sent hit the boat head on. The little boat shook violently and then shot towards a group of rocks at the shore. "Jump!" Draco grabbed Harry's collar and they dove from the boat just before it shattered on the rocks. They surfaced moments later sputtering and gasping for air. Lucius wasted no time firing curses at them. Wordlessly, they separated and swam in opposite directions, dividing Lucius' focus.

Harry swam around the rocks and reached the shore before Draco. He sent disarming spells towards Lucius, trying to draw his fire until Draco could reach the shore. Lucius took the bait and attacked. When Draco made it to land, he raced after them, sending stunning spells toward his father. Lucius was no stranger to dueling and deflected many of the spells, dodging the others. Harry and Draco were quick, though, and forced him into the ramshackle building in the middle of the island.

It was dark, nearly pitch black, and none of the wizards dared use a _lumos_ spell lest the enemy spot it. They all moved with stealth through the run down building, hunting each other. At a wordless nod from Harry, he and Draco split up. They each went a different direction around to the main room. Harry crept along the wall, trying to listen for Lucius' footsteps. He edged his way along the wall and then came to the doorway to the main room. His eyes tried to search the darkness but it was too absolute for sight. With more courage than he felt, he stepped into the room.

"_Avada-_"

"_Expellarmus_!" Draco shot the spell from across the room, following only the sound of his father's voice. The telltale clatter of wood dropping let him know that he'd hit his target. Then heavy bootfalls headed right at him. "_Lumos!_" He lifted his wand, knowing his father was disarmed and unable to hit him with a curse. Lucius raced towards him. He_smiled._ Draco felt time slow down. Did his father really expect him to just stand aside and let him go? He seemed so sure of himself. And why shouldn't he? All his life, Draco had done what he asked. He'd protected his father time and again. Of course Lucius thought Draco would just let him past.

It made the look of betrayal on his face all the more sharp when it came. Draco braced his feet and felt the breath leave his lungs as his father collided with him. Even as they both fell to the dirty ground, Draco knew he would never forget the look in his father's eyes when he'd realized that Draco wasn't going to let him go. They tussled on the ground, Lucius trying to get Draco's wand and Draco trying to get his father pinned without hurting him any more than was necessary.

The fight was cut short by Harry pulling Lucius up by his collar. Harry's wand was pressed tight at Lucius throat. "Not another move, Malfoy," he said calmly. Draco climbed to his feet.

"Traitor!" Lucius spat in Draco's face. Draco cringed, more from the accusation than the spittle. Harry immediately put Lucius in a full body bind.

"Alright?" Harry asked Draco, still out of breath. Draco only nodded, not trusting his voice. Together, they levitated Lucius out to where a dozen Aurors had just landed. "Backup's got perfect bloody timing," Harry grumbled. He gratefully passed Lucius off to the others. Without another word, he and Draco started the long trek back to the Auror's office to make their reports.

The next morning, Harry watched Draco carefully over the table. He'd let Harry order his coffee so he didn't accidentally ask for pumpkin pastilles or something equally un-muggle. Now he was sipping his vanilla latte without speaking. Harry took cautious sips of his cappuccino and wondered what exactly he should say to his partner.

"I almost didn't stop him," Draco finally said roughly.

"What?" Harry set down his cup and stared at Draco.

"I almost didn't stop him," he repeated. "There was a part of me that wanted to just let him get away." Draco kept his eyes on the lid of his cup, refusing to look Harry in the eyes.

"But you didn't," Harry said firmly.

"It would have been so easy," Draco mused. "Two steps to the left and he could have slipped by me. I think he honestly thought I would let him go. The look in his eyes when I stopped him...He looked betrayed."

"You didn't betray your father, Draco. He betrayed our world. He knowingly enslaved Muggleborns and would have let the magical world die if the curse had kept going. You did the right thing. And you saved my life in the process," Harry added mildly.

"Saving your life was purely incidental, Potter, let me assure you." Draco spoke seriously but there was a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. After a moment, the smile fled and Draco put down his coffee. He dropped his head into his hands and sighed. "How do you accept the fact that your own father is evil?" He shook his head. "I knew he was fighting for the wrong side in the war...but I convinced myself that he'd just made a mistake and he couldn't get out of it. That he wasn't necessarily a bad person, he'd just been stuck. Even after everything I still held out hope for him. Even after he tried to...After the incident with Hermione. But this? He was fueling a curse that killed babies. Babies! What the fuck? Who does that?"

"Draco you can't let this get to you. He let his hatred blind him. He probably would have done anything if he thought it would get him his revenge."

"Gee, thanks, Potter. I feel so much better." His words were so heavy with sarcasm that Harry was surprised they didn't drop down onto the table with an audible thud.

"Look, its just that people can get caught up and loose track of what is right and wrong."

"That's easy for you to say. Your dad isn't headed to his second bout at Azkaban."

"Yeah, well my dad wasn't exactly a saint."

"Your dad died trying to protect you and your mum!" Draco scoffed in disbelief.

"I'm not saying he wasn't heroic, or that he wasn't a great man. But...well I cant tell you the whole story, because its not my story to tell. But when he was younger, my father let his hatred for someone cloud his judgment. He did things that were unforgivable. The point is that even good people can loose their way."

"Either way, I don't think my father is one of those 'good people.' I think he truly is evil. And what does that make me?"

"It doesn't make you anything, Draco. Whatever your father is or isn't, it doesn't change who you are."

"You don't think being the spawn of evil will affect me? How do you know that some day I won't start going around in a black robe and mask again and spouting Pureblood supremacy nonsense?"

"I don't know that for certain."

"Blimey you sure know how to comfort a guy, Potter." Draco shot Harry a glare. Harry chuckled.

"I mean that no one can know that for certain. Ron might go through a mid life crisis and use all his Bunny money to start a ginger supremacy group for all we know. But I trust that he won't. Just like I trust that you won't become a Death Eater sometime down the line. You're better than that, Draco. And I know that you aren't evil. I trust you." Harry reached across the table and lightly touched Draco's hand. Draco stared at the place where their skin connected, as if it was his only hold on the real world. He lifted his eyes to Harry's.

"Why?" The word was a broken whisper. "I've never given you any reason to trust me. I've done terrible things to you and your friends."

"Every time its come down to it, you've made the right decisions. You couldn't kill Dumbledore, and you couldn't kill me when you had the chance either. You apprehended your own father last night when he almost killed me and got away. Your actions speak louder than your words. They always have." Draco watched him intently, letting the words sink in. After a moment he shook his hand out from under Harry's.

"Don't be such a fruit, Potter," he said lightly. But Harry noticed him surreptitiously rubbing his hand where Harry had touched it. He bit back his grin and didn't say anything. "And next time I see Weasley I'm telling him you called his fortune 'Bunny money.'" He flashed an evil grin and Harry laughed.

"Sure, Draco. You do that." He smiled and sipped his coffee, glad to have his partner back.

That afternoon Draco and Harry were able to go tell Severus and Hermione in person about their capture of Lucius. There was an awkward moment in which they all stood in the entry way staring at each other. Then Harry noticed the cut on Hermione's lip and he rushed over to her.

"What the hell happened, Mione?" The bruise had faded but now that he was standing so close, he could see its outline on her cheek. Without meaning to, his eyes flicked to Severus. Severus stiffened in outrage.

"I am going to pretend that I didn't see that furtive look, Potter," he growled. "Because if I thought even for a moment that you were accusing me of striking Hermione I would gut you like a swine." Harry held his hands out in surrender.

"I didn't say that, Severus."

"Of course he didn't hit me," Hermione said in exasperation. "He was the one who saved me!"

"Saved you from what?" Draco looked from Hermione to Severus to Harry, clearly confused.

"Why don't you both come in and we can tell you the story from the beginning." Hermione motioned them into the living room. Harry looked expectantly at Hermione but it was Severus who spoke.

"Last night as we were waiting for news as to whether you had apprehended Lucius, I received an owl from the ministry." He stopped and ran a hand through his hair. "I thought it was from the Minister, so after telling Hermione not to leave the flat, I apparated there. Apparently the Minister had been expecting me even though he wasn't the one who sent the owl. We talked about when I would be preforming the countercurse as well as...Other things. When I realized who had really sent that owl, I apparated back to the flat and started a tracer spell."

"What is it with you and tracer spells?" Draco muttered. Severus glared at him until he quelled.

"How did you know who it was that had sent the owl, Severus?" Hermione asked. She hadn't heard this part of the story yet.

"Process of elimination," he shrugged. "Lucius wouldn't have access to the Ministry letterhead. And there wasn't any one else within the ministry that would know about the law being repealed so quickly nor have as much reason to want to get you."

"Wait, who sent the owl? What happened to Hermione?" Harry looked impatiently from Severus to Hermione.

"Flitch," she whispered and shivered.

"The Ministry official sent to check up on us after our marriage," Severus clarified. "He clearly had a grudge against Muggleborns, and I made an enemy of him by threatening to take out his tongue if he insulted my wife again. He forged the note and came to the flat after I'd arrived at the ministry. Hermione knew who he was and let him inside."

"Right when I pulled my wand on him because I knew something suspicious was going on, he shoved a portkey at me and we went to...wherever we were. He was crazy. He kept talking about eradicating Muggleborns from society and how we'd ruined everything and that if he couldn't have the world that he wanted then he would at least have a Muggleborn to take his frustration out on. He broke my fingers so I dropped my wand but I still hit him with a wandless spell." Harry gasped at hearing Flitch had broken Hermione's fingers, and Draco gasped at hearing that she'd done wandless magic. "I was trying to get my wand back with my left hand when he hit me with some kind of curse I've never heard of before. I had nearly passed out from the pain when Severus found me."

"I gave her the countercurse and then stupidly assumed that Flitch was still unconscious."

"I assumed that too, Severus," Hermione interjected gently. Severus still glowered, clearly mad at himself. "Anyways, Flitch woke up and tried to throw the curse at me again. Severus stepped in front of me and it hit him." Hermione's voice broke.

"Suffice it to say that I was at death's door and Hermione revived me."

"And Flitch?" Harry looked ready to lead an all out assault on the man.

"Dead," Severus said flatly. Harry looked from Hermione to Severus and then simply nodded.

"Good." He glanced at Draco and then continued. "We arrested Lucius early this morning."

"Talk about a long story short," Draco muttered. Harry ignored him.

"He's in custody and no longer fueling the curse. The Minister asked us to let you know that he is at your disposal whenever you are ready to cast the countercurse. He has a press conference ready to repeal the law as soon as the curse is broken."

"Just knowing about the curse should be enough for him to repeal the law," Severus muttered. Hermione squeezed his hand and flashed him a smile. "I suppose I should get over there then. Get this madness done with." He rose from the couch and pulled Hermione up with him. "Shall we all go?" he drawled. One by one they nodded. Hermione held Severus' hand and linked her arm through Harry's. Harry laid his hand on Draco's shoulder. Then all at once they apparated to the ministry.

In less than an hour Severus had completed the countercurse and sent it out into the world. There was no blast of energy, no flare of light. Just a very subtle wave that rippled out from Severus. Ten minutes later the Minister received the owl of confirmation that the births had begun to return to normal.

"Well then, I guess I will go down the the press conference. Of course you all are invited," the Minister added. Severus glanced at Hermione and she shook her head.

"I think I'd rather read about it in the paper tomorrow. I want to get home." Hermione took Severus' arm and started to turn away.

"Ah..." The Minister cleared his throat. "You do realize that once I make this announcement, your marriage will be over? You will be Miss Granger once more and free to return to your own home." Harry glanced at Severus in time to see him clench his hands into fists. Harry took a cautious step back, just in case. Hermione only smiled.

"I know, Minister." She took Severus' hand again and looked up at him with that sweet smile still on her face. "Take me home?" Severus nodded curtly and they apparated away without another word. The Minister, Harry and Draco shared a look between them. Then the Minister shrugged and made his way downstairs to start his speech. Draco and Harry followed behind him.

At the press conference, the Minister gave awards to Harry and Draco. Draco wanted to be thinking snidely that this award would go well along with Potter's plethora of other awards, but all he could think about was what Harry had said to him. _Trust._ Implicit trust.

If he'd ever needed a sign, some show from Harry that he meant it when he said that he'd put their past behind him, that he took their partnership seriously, that had been it. Harry trusted him. Without cause, without proof. Harry had gone to that island knowing full well that if Draco turned on him he would be out numbered. He put his life in Draco's hands.

What was more, Harry didn't seem proud that Draco had done the right thing and arrested Lucius. He didn't seem pleasantly surprised that Draco had saved his life. He acted like he'd _expected _it. Grateful, of course, but like he'd known all along Draco would be on his side to the end. He trusted Draco.

It was almost too great a burden to bear.

Draco could feel the weight of it on him like a stone. Suddenly, it seemed as if every move he made could disappoint that trust. And now that he had it, he couldn't bear for that to happen. Harry's trust in him made Draco want to be a better man. And the prospect scared the shit out of him.

That, combined with the odd assortment of emotions that assailed him every time he and Harry were in close proximity to each other prompted him to ask Henry Henry for some time off. He needed some distance, some perspective. He needed to clear his head of Harry Potter.

_**So I sort of feel like the guy on the rescue boat that went out looking for survivors of the Titanic. 'Helloooooooo! Is there anyone out there? Helllloooooooo!' I haven't bored you all into losing interest, have I? The good stuff is right around the corner, I promise! This chapter officially ended the part of the story that overlaped LTL, so what comes next is all original plot. And we have fluff and smut coming up very very soon! Keep reading, and keep reviewing everyone!**_

_**PS. I've also posted a new story called And I Will Be Your Slave, a 3 part Labyrinth fic. Check it out!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Thank you for the reviews, my lovelies! They are assurance to me that this is still being read and you all are hanging in there with me. And to express my gratitude...two chapters in as many days! Personally I think this is where the story really starts to pick up, so enjoy, and when you're done, don't forget to review!**_

A month had passed by, and Harry had had enough. He'd been patient, he'd been understanding. But now he was done. He was tired of working with Rogers, and he wanted his partner back. It wasn't that Rogers was a bad Auror. Far from it, in fact. But in the almost year that they'd worked together, Harry had gotten used to Draco. They made a good team. They complimented each other. Harry missed Draco's sharp wit and his fast reflexes. He missed their banter. He missed the rapport they'd developed. The easy companionship that had blossomed between them. He missed _Draco._

Which was why at breakfast that morning, he was telling Ginny his plan to try and persuade Draco to come back. All Ginny could do was smile and nod. She and Harry had been together for a few years and she knew that when he had an idea in his head, he wouldn't let it go. For the last six months, it seemed all she'd heard about from him had been Draco Malfoy this and Draco Malfoy that. Not that she minded. She loved hearing him talk- about anything. He told stories in a way that made them come to life and so it had seemed as if Ginny had been there when they'd eaten their way out of the giant vat of pudding for the Elf Escapade. She felt as if she'd been there in the warehouse the night Lucius had cornered Harry.

Maybe that was why she understood so well how much Harry wanted his partner back. The problem was that there was a small part of her that wanted Draco to stay away. Wanted him to never come back. The part of her that knew with perfect clarity just how much Draco meant to Harry. Ginny wasn't a selfish woman. Far from it. But she couldn't help the part of her that wanted _her _to be the most important person in her boyfriend's life. And if Draco came back, Ginny knew it was only a matter of time until the foundation of their relationship would be rocked, only a matter of time until Draco became the most important person in Harry's life.

Harry, blind to the future and unaware of the direction his life was heading, left Ginny's flat that morning and went to Draco's. He squared his shoulders and knocked on the door, bracing himself with all the logical reasons Draco should come back to work. Arming himself with rationality.

There were muffled sounds from inside the flat, a thud and then a moan. Just when Harry was ready to break down the door to make sure Draco was alright, the door opened and Draco squinted into the sunlight. "Harry?"

"Draco?" Harry couldn't believe his eyes or his ears. Had Draco just called him _Harry?_ Draco never called him Harry. But then, Draco also never looked hung over and exhausted. Even when they'd gone out together and gotten pissed, he'd never looked hung over the next day. But now, there were dark circles beneath his eyes, his blonde hair was mussed and his hands shook. He looked as if he'd lost weight, and with his sleight build, the man could scarcely afford it.

"What are you doing here?" Draco tried to close the door as much as possible without fully shuting it in Harry's face. Harry ignored the question, staring at his partner.

"What the bloody hell has been going on?" He searched Draco's tired looking face once more, taking in the red eyes and gaunt cheeks. His stomach clenched.

"What? Nothing. What do you want?"

"Draco. What's the matter? Have you not been eating? Or sleeping? Are you sick?"

"No, nothing like that. Listen-" He was cut off by a yawn from behind the door.

"Not that it wasn't fun Draco, but I'm off." The voice sounded nearly bored. Harry pushed the door open despite Draco's desperate bid to hold it back. Blaise stood by Draco's little fireplace, a pinch of floo powder in his hand. He looked to the door and noticed Harry. "Potter," he sneered. Harry stared at him, almost unable to believe what his eyes were seeing. Balise looked disheveled and it was obvious he'd spent the night. More, there were love bites up his neck and disappearing down his shoulder under his shirt. He winked at Draco and flooed away.

Harry looked from the now empty fireplace, back to Draco, and then to the bedroom. The door was open as if in accusation. Bottles littered the living room floor as if setting the scene. Draco watched his partner take in all the evidence. He finally let go of the door -the damage was already done- and simply walked into the kitchen without a word.

He wanted to bury his face and hide, but Draco Malfoy never hid. Instead, he started making coffee and thought about the last month. About the confusing emotions he'd been dealing with, about the crippling guilt over sending his father to prison, the yearning to have his partner and his life back, and the utter shock the moment he'd realized that he was falling in love with Harry Potter. Why couldn't he have just been oblivious? He'd have happily lived the rest of his life without that knowledge. He didn't want it, couldn't do anything about it, resented it deeply. He'd never considered himself attracted to males before nor had he ever thought that one day he'd fall for one. For that matter, he'd never really thought he'd fall in love. It always seemed to uncontrollable, too messy for him. Something people with less self control and determination did. Not him.

But as soon as he'd spent a day away from Harry, the yearning had begun. Missing him. Wanting to be close to him. And the more he'd pushed those desires away, the more other desires had revealed themselves. The first time he'd dreamed about Harry had been vivid and graphic and he'd convinced himself that it had been a nightmare, not a dream. But the more the dreams came, the more he had to admit that they were not something he feared...they were something he desperately longed for.

Alcohol didn't dull the urge, but it dulled his thoughts. He'd spent nearly every night since figuring out the truth in Blaise's pub, trying to drown his emotions in liquor. Trying to make himself forget the way Harry's sharp green eyes could see right through him. Trying to ignore the way his body tightened whenever he recalled Harry touching his hand that day in the cafe. Trying to convince himself that if he just ignored it, it would go away.

It wasn't the first time Blaise had come home with him. No, the first time had been long before. On a night when his desires had gotten the better of him and in a moment of weakness he'd made a pass at the pub owner. Even through his drunken haze he'd seen the surprise on Blaise's face, but it had quickly turned into acceptance. Draco knew he was good looking. He knew that if Blaise hadn't been absolutely certain that Draco was straight he'd have made a bid to sleep with him before. But Draco had never shown even a hint of interest in the same sex before that night. Despite his shock, Blaise had been only too happy to go home with Draco. He didn't mind that Draco never once said his name. Didn't care that Draco seemed nearly blind with want and didn't take his time. Draco was attractive and despite his wild lust- or maybe because of it- he was a good lover.

Which was why Blaise had accepted the times Draco had offered again. He really didn't care that Draco wasn't actually interested in him. He'd actually been relieved when he'd realized that Draco was using him as a stand in. Not that he didn't like Draco, but he certainly didn't want anything serious with him. Draco was a beautiful little toy, and a demon in bed, but nothing more to Blaise. When their trysts were done, he was only too happy to be on his way.

Draco would have felt bad about using Blaise if he didn't know that the other man wanted nothing more to do with him than as a customer in his pub and an occasional trophy for his bed. But the situation worked for them both. Blaise provided an outlet for Draco when his desires became too much. It didn't matter to him that the name he was thinking over and over in his head was _Harry Harry Harry._ It didn't matter that when he closed his eyes he pictured green eyes and messy hair and an impish smile.

Now though, he was looking into those eyes for real. And he felt, not for the first time, a stirring of shame. That he'd spent the last month living like a drunkard, that he'd run away from his troubles, and that he'd tried to substitute what he truly wanted with a shallow fuck. The coffee finished and neither of them had spoken a word. Draco poured himself a cup and then made Harry his tea just the way he liked it. He handed it to his partner and then sipped his coffee and let it wash through him, awakening his sluggish senses.

They drank in silence for several moments before Harry finally spoke. "You need to come back to work," he said firmly. Draco did a double take. Of all the things he could say, that's what Harry said first?

"I'm sure you're much better off without me," Draco muttered.

"I'm really not." Harry spoke it like a declaration. An absolute truth. Because that's what it was. He was better with Draco, on the job and off. Draco met his eyes and they simply looked at each other for a long time. When it got to be too intense, Harry looked down at his tea again. "They've put me with Rogers."

"Rogers is a good Auror."

"Yeah, but he's not-" Harry stopped and ran his hand through his hair. Draco set down his coffee and leaned against the counter, staring Harry down.

"He's not what?"

"You," Harry whispered. Draco blinked in shock. His foolish heart leaped at that one little word. An entire world of beautiful hope and possibility bloomed before him. He struggled to get himself under control and keep his voice from shaking.

"You mean he doesn't have my acidic wit?" He tried to laugh, but Harry remained serious.

"Or your intuition. Or your knowledge. Or your quick thinking. He's not you. I want my partner back."

Draco swallowed thickly and picked up his coffee again. When he saw his hand was shaking, he set it down once more. "Yeah, well if you can't tell, I've been dealing with some shit."

Harry cocked a brow. "You've been drinking through some shit is what I see."

"Piss off, Harry. You deal with things your way and let me deal with things mine."

"Does your way not include food? Or sleep?"

"It obviously doesn't include you!"

Harry blanched, letting the hurt wash through him and then forcing his face into a mask of indifference to hide it. "Too bad."

"You can't just force yourself into my life, Potter," Draco sneered.

"Try and stop me," Harry countered. Draco stared at him for a full minute, letting all the wild thoughts storm through his mind. He'd been trying to push Harry from his head with drink and distance and substitution. He knew Harry didn't want him the way Draco wanted Harry. Not only would making a move on him be a betrayal of the trust they shared, it would just be stupid. Harry was straight, and in a relationship. Draco was trying to do the right thing by getting Harry out of his life and out of sight as temptation. But the idiot wouldn't go now! Didn't he know what Draco was thinking of doing to him even that moment? Couldn't he tell? Wasn't it written all over Draco's face like scarlet letters of accusation?

If Harry wouldn't go willingly, then Draco would make him. It was the only thing he could do. Because what he wanted could never happen. So there was no reason for them both to suffer through being pushed together any longer. One way or another. Draco fingered his wand in his pocket, staring his partner down. He knew there were a dozen spells he could launch at Harry. Spells he wouldn't know to brace himself for, spells he wouldn't know how to block. But the thought of hurting the other man was more than Draco could bear. But there were other ways to send Harry running. Ways that appealed to Draco on a much different level.

"Try and stop you? You're going to go through that door, Harry, and you're never going to come back. I can make sure of it." Draco walked slowly towards him. Harry lifted his chin stubbornly. Damn Gryffindor. Draco's body came alive, every nerve ending standing to attention. Adrenaline tore through his blood stream, making his hands shake despite trying to hold them steady. He stopped directly in front of Harry, not more than an inch from him.

"If you're trying to intimidate me, Draco, you'll have to do better than that. I trust you. And you can't break that trust so easily. It won't work. You're not going to hurt me."

"Hurt you?" Draco laughed softly, the sound menacing and sultry at the same time. "Oh Harry, there are ways I can frighten you off that are so much more pleasurable. For me." In a lightning fast move, he fisted one hand in Harry's wild hair and tipped his head back. Before Harry could react in any way, Draco's lips crashed against Harry's. The kiss was hard and swift, almost more assault than affection. Harry froze, then gasped in shock. Draco took full advantage, his tongue thrusting into Harry's mouth and stroking, exploring. When Harry gasped, they shared breath. It was intimate and intrusive, harsh and tender, so charged with emotion that it wasn't clear exactly what either man was expressing. Draco's hand in Harry's hair loosened, turned soft. The touch that had been dominating became passionate as his brain screamed at him to take full advantage, to etch every single moment of the kiss into his mind because it would never happen again.

Harry struggled to breathe, struggled to think. All he could do for a moment was feel. Feel Draco's warm lips on his, feel his hard body pressed against him. For a heartbeat, it wasn't the man that had once been his enemy kissing him. It was a familiar body against his, an intimate touch. His body reacted to the presence of another, softening, welcoming, tensing in anticipation. But his brain couldn't be silenced for long. This was Draco. His partner. His male partner. And that aside, Harry wasn't free to return the kiss. He was with Ginny. And this was wrong, so wrong on so many levels.

His arms came up and braced against Draco's shoulders, shoving him back sharply. Draco stumbled back, pupils dilated, breath coming in gasps. Harry fought to regain his composure. Fought to sort through the muddled thoughts racing around his head.

"Are you still drunk? Or was that supposed to be some sort of punishment for caring about you?" They were the only real possibilities that Harry could see. Draco shook his head and turned away.

"Because that's all that can be inside of me, isn't it Harry? A drunkard or a bastard. Inebriated stupidity or cruel punishment are all I'm capable of?"

"That's not what I-"

"Why would you see it any differently? Its the path you expect me to follow, isn't it? Its what you've been thinking would happen from the beginning. You knew it would come to this one day. I'm not the good guy. I couldn't possibly be."

"Stop it! You can't convince me of that! I want there to be another explanation!"

"But you can't possibly conceive of what it could be?" Draco sounded more tired than angry now. He let his head drop into his hands, not sure what he was doing any more.

"Why don't you explain it to me? I'm obviously not running out like you planned. So tell me what the hell is going on."

"You honestly can't think of any other reason that I'd kiss you?" Draco kept his back to Harry, unable to look at him. But he could feel Harry's eyes on his back.

"I think you're confused. I think arresting your father messed you up- as it would anyone. I think maybe you're going through a big life change, and you don't know exactly what you're feeling. And I think I'm just convenient. I'm at hand, and you're trying to push me away because you feel lost and you kissed me in the heat of the moment."

Draco whirled to face him angrily. "You're not just an innocent bystander caught up in my insanity! You're the cause of it!"

Harry stepped back as if struck. He searched Draco's face, trying to see something there, anything that he could find sure footing with. "What have I done to make you hate me suddenly?" he whispered.

"Hate you?" Draco took a step towards Harry and then stopped, realizing what he'd done. He shook his head sadly. "I don't hate you." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes as he braced to reveal the damning truth. "I'm in love with you."

"You...what?"

"You heard me. I'm not repeating it."

"You just mean as friends. Partners. Platonically. Cripes, Draco, until today I didn't even know you..."

"Liked men? I don't! Didn't. Fuck, I didn't, not until you. Not until this."

"But Blaise-"

"Blaise is a patch! A substitute for what I really want. He doesn't care about me any more than I care about him, which isn't a lot when it really comes down to it. I've been trying to forget about you, Harry Potter. And I've been failing miserably. So get out and go home. Go back to your pretty little life where everything makes sense and everyone gets a happy ending."

"Now it's my turn to ask, Draco. Do you really think so little of me? That I'd just abandon you when things get tough? How well do you really know me?"

"This isn't something that'll just blow over. I'm not some problem you can fix. If I see you, I'm going to be wanting you. And if I'm around you, I'm going to try and have you. I'm just selfish enough not to be able to control myself. I'm not a martyr. I won't sit idly by while what I want is just out of reach. I take the things I want Harry. You know that maybe better than anyone."

"And you know that I don't just abandon my friends. You think you're going to drive me off with this, and I refuse to budge. So I guess we're at an impasse."

"Has your life radically changed in the last month, Harry? Are you suddenly attracted to men? Did you and Weasley break up in the last thirty days? Did you somehow fall head over heels for me? No? Then why are you pushing this? If you stay, I'm going to be watching you, lusting after you, wanting you and doing my damndest to have you. Why would you stick around for that?"

"Because you're my friend! Draco, you're my best friend. I'm not just going to stop being around you because...because..."

"Because I've fallen in love with you? Because I want you?" Draco shook his head. "Have you even taken a second to process what that means?"

"I don't need to process it. Love is _never _bad thing. Its flattering, and I'll admit, unexpected. I can't say that I ever saw this coming. But did you really think I would hate you for it? That this would drive me away from you?"

"Why shouldn't it? You don't feel the way I do. You're not only straight, but you're in a relationship with someone else. Knowing that the man who until fairly recently was your worst enemy is suddenly wanting to jump you would be enough to make any normal person run for the hills!"

"Yeah, well we both know that I'm not exactly normal. And don't flatter yourself, Draco, you were never my worst enemy. Don't get me wrong, we had our issues, but you were never the worst person I had to face."

"How comforting." Draco rolled his eyes and sighed. This hadn't gone the way he'd expected at all. He'd thought Harry would deck him and storm out. Rail against him, tell him how sick it all was, anything else. But to have him stand his ground, say he wasn't leaving? It wasn't a possibility Draco had counted on. And his foolish heart couldn't help but hope. Even against all reason. He threw caution to the wind and for the first time in his life, let his heart show, open and vulnerable to Harry. "Tell me this much. Is there any... Would it ever be possible..." his voice cracked. He reached one hand out to Harry's face but dropped it before it touched his cheek. "Could you ever feel the same way about me?"

"Draco...I-"

"Stop," Draco whispered dejectedly. "That's all I needed to hear." He turned away again.

"No, Draco, wait." Harry sighed, trying to come up with an answer that was both honest and comforting. He'd never been good at falsehoods, even for the sake of others. He swallowed and went with the truth, whole and bare. "I'd never considered the possibility before. Not because of who you are, but just because it didn't seem to be something that would ever come up. I've never found myself attracted to a man before, but not because I consider myself "straight" or anything like that. It's just never happened. You're plenty good looking- you know that- and you're smart and funny and courageous. You're someone that anyone would be lucky to have. And if it wasn't for Ginny, I wouldn't be turning you down without at least some thought. But you're right, I'm in a committed relationship and I'm loyal. I care about you. A lot. Right now its as a friend and partner. Because my heart is someone else's. I can't tell you that if I were single I'd be immediately head over heels for you because I'm not in that situation. And I'm not going to lie to you. I can't be sure. But I can tell you that if the circumstances were different, yes it would be possible. I'm not saying that you should hang your hat on that, because you shouldn't. I love Ginny and I'm not counting on that ending any time soon, if ever. But for all I know, she might wake up tomorrow and decide she wants to go off and live with the centaurs. Hell, she might decide one day that she prefers women! And then...who knows." He trailed off, thinking for the first time about being in that situation. Thinking about being with...Draco Malfoy. And it wasn't an altogether unpleasant thought. "That's all I can say. And friendship is all I can offer for now. All I can hope is that it's enough."

"Harry..." Draco stared at him, hardly daring to believe what he'd just heard. The possibility of that Harry might want him in different circumstances was so unbelievable to him that Harry might as well have just offered to fuck him on the kitchen table. For the first time, he let his mind consider the possibility- just the possibility- that Harry might one day be his. It was a surreal dream. But just that slight chance was enough to keep him going. And Harry still wanted him in his life. Which meant he had time. Time and options. His will went instantly crystalline. He could make Harry his. He would. "It's enough. For now." He stepped closer to Harry and stared him in the eyes. "As long as you know that I'm going to be wanting you...trying to win you. I won't cross the line, but I'll be here, waiting in the wings for you."

Harry swallowed, feeling the sincerity in Draco's words all the way to his bones. He nodded, oddly invigorated at the prospect. "Fine. Now are you coming back to work finally?"

Draco smirked. "Try and stop me."


	9. Chapter 9

"So what's our case load look like?" Draco asked a few hours later after he'd showered and had another cup of coffee. Harry had politely declined Draco's invitation into the shower with him and laughed, though Draco had only been half joking. When they'd arrived at the office, Draco realized for the first time in a month just how much he'd missed the day to day life as an Auror. He'd never thought of himself as one of those people who would become dependent on their job to define their identity, but somehow in the last year it had happened. Maybe it was making up for past wrongs, maybe it was working with Harry, or maybe it was just what he'd been destined to do, but Draco needed his job. He felt like himself for the first time in a long while sitting back at his desk.

"There have been several disappearances that Henry Henry thinks are connected, so he's given the cases to us all together. That's the main thing I've been working on, along with a few smaller ones to do with smuggling."

"Disappearances? Why does he think they are all linked?"

"They're all male, all of pureblood descent that we know of so far."

"Connected to the marriage law somehow?"

"Its possible," Harry said with a shrug. "Too early to say though."

"Oh come on, Harry, walk on the wild side. Speculate."

"Speculation is unreliable and often leads to erroneous conclusions. Its pointless."

"You can do it," Draco coaxed. "Do something crazy for once."

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. "Crazy I've done many times before. Dangerous and sloppy I'd rather not do."

"Fine, I'll do it for you. Feel free to join in. Pureblood men, disappearing, only a month after the repeal of the marriage law. Someone with a grudge kidnapping them? Killing them? Maybe a victim of the law out for revenge? A muggleborn, or a friend or loved one of someone forced to marry?" Draco stood and paced a little, on a roll. "Maybe someone who went to one of the restitution centers and wasn't happy with the outcome. Or someone who didn't go because they felt they needed to take matters into their own hands. Or maybe it has nothing to do with the marriage law and its just someone who is nutters and this is their MO. The fact that they are all pureblood can't be coincidence, but the timing could be. Maybe its some pureblood woman starting her own harem. Though if that were the case I'm sure I'd have gone missing by now." He flashed a grin at Harry, who crinkled his nose and tossed a crumpled up ball of paper at Draco's face. He batted it away easily and tapped his chin. "Or it could be-"

"Before you come up with any more crazy theories, lets recap what you've got so far. It could be a muggleborn or a friend or loved one of a muggleborn wanting revenge from the marriage law. Or it could be totally coincidental. Or it could be a serial killer. Or a woman starting a harem." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head resignedly.

"That about covers it," Draco grinned. "Still glad you got me to come back?"

"Ask me in ten minutes," Harry grumbled, but he smiled.

"So, I say we search the MCDB (magical criminal data base) to see if there have been any killings with this same MO in the last, say, ten years. Then I think we should go to the local restitution centers and see if they've had anyone come in and be violently angry about the outcome of their meeting. And if those both come up empty, we go back to the drawing board."

"What about the harem theory? How do we check that one?"

"Wait and see if I get kidnapped, of course." He smirked. Harry laughed and rolled his eyes.

"You want to know what the worst part about all this is?"

"The waiting to see if I'll be held hostage at a rabid woman's mercy for my sexual prowess?"

"Its the fact that your crazy conjecture actually gives us good leads to go on."

"And the kidnapping of your gorgeous partner, don't forget that."

"If you don't pipe down I'm going to sell you off to a harem myself."

"As long as you're the sultan, dream boat." Draco grinned cheekily and winked at Harry. Harry turned pink, scarlet, nearly purple, then laughed so hard he snorted. "I at least get points for creativity with that, right?"

"You get all the points you want, Draco."

The search of the MCDB came up with nothing so the duo moved on to the restitution centers. There had been three established in London and more in the surrounding areas. They focused on those closest to home first. The harried looking witch at the South center informed them that nearly everyone that came in for a meeting left violently angry. When pressed for examples of anyone who seemed worse than the rest, she tiredly offered to check with the other workers and owl them back.

They expected the same reaction from the manager of the second center and were pleasantly surprised when she greeted them calmly and offered them her surveillance footage to go through themselves to see if anyone stood out. Harry pocketed the small magical recording device and thanked the woman, then they set out for the third center. The wizard who ran it seemed just as harried as the woman from the first one, but obligingly offered Draco and Harry his surveillance footage as well.

When they arrived back at the Auror's office, they split up. Draco stayed at their desk to go over the footage while Harry went off to find out more about the missing men. When they met back up at the end of the day, they both had leads. Harry had discovered that each of the men had take wives under the marriage law, making the possibility that the cases were linked to the law nearly undeniable. Draco had singled out three witches from the surveillance footage that he thought might be violent enough to go out on a kidnapping or killing spree. Harry took a look at the women in question and agreed with Draco unequivocally. It was looking more and more like one of the victims of the marriage law had decided to take retribution into her own hands.

The hardest thing for Harry was vilifying the woman, whoever she was. She'd been a victim of a terrible law, a blight upon wizarding history, a dark time for purebloods and muggleborns alike. It had been an awful injustice that had hurt thousands of people. Had she been married to a monster? Forced to turn herself over to a man she barely knew, or worse, one who knew her and had a grudge like Lucius had with Hermione? Had she been forced to his bed, perhaps forced with the heir clause to get pregnant with his child? It made Harry sick to think about it. Could he blame her for snapping? For thinking that the restitution wasn't enough? If Hermione had ended up married to Lucius, was there anything Harry wouldn't have done for her, including killing the man?

He didn't think there was.

So how could he hunt down this woman? Despite being an officer of the law, despite being sworn to uphold the rules of the magical community, Harry simply couldn't muster any outrage over her crimes. Couldn't find any desperate rush to solve the disappearances. They did their job, that day and the next and the one after that. But the more it looked like a muggleborn witch was the culprit, the less Harry felt pressed to find her.

And Harry had other things on his mind as well. Such as whether to tell Ginny about Draco or not. He felt dishonest not telling her about Draco's feelings and intentions. After all, if someone else was going to be openly vying for his affection, didn't she have the right to know? But somehow it felt like betraying Draco's confidence to tell her. He was torn between two people he cared about deeply. No, Draco hadn't outright told him not to tell anyone, but he also hadn't come out about his change in sexuality to anyone other than Harry. And Ginny wasn't a gossip, but she would almost certainly tell Molly, who would probably unintentionally let it slip at some family dinner. And as soon as Ron found out about it, Draco's news would be out. That is, if the red head could stop laughing long enough to pass the news on. The idea of Draco not only being gay, but also being in love with Harry, would be almost more than Ron could bear. He'd probably blow a gasket at the irony of it all. Harry didn't think he would tell others maliciously to hurt Draco, but Ron was terrible at keeping things to himself. Especially anything he thought was funny. And Draco's feelings for Harry would be hilarious to Ron.

So what was he supposed to do? He'd justified his silence the first night with his certainty that it wouldn't be an issue. Draco wasn't competition for Ginny, so she had nothing to worry about. The problem was that as time passed, Harry started to wonder if Draco _wasn't _competition.

He was always careful never to cross the line into unwanted attention or something that would make Harry uncomfortable. It was always subtle, unassuming, and unbearably sweet. They would be sitting at their desk and Draco would brush Harry's hair off his forehead when it had fallen into his eyes. On breaks, Draco would bring Harry the tea he preferred, prepared just the way he liked it. When getting his attention, Draco would touch Harry's shoulder or the back of his neck, lingering for just a moment.

One afternoon in the training room Harry was at the punching bag and felt Draco's eyes on him as he put the bag through its paces. And rather than feel self conscious or uncomfortable, Harry had felt...pleasure. He'd kicked a little higher, punched a little harder, moved a little faster. He'd felt oddly empowered that he could make Draco's gaze linger on his body, make his eyes take on that lustful glint.

Harry had never seen himself as particularly handsome or charming. The few times he'd gotten romantic attention it had been more about his status than him as a person. Ginny had been the only person to really see him as an individual and want him for all of himself. There certainly hadn't been any men who'd been romantically interested in him that he'd known about. More and more he found himself wondering if people were born with their sexual preferences, or if they developed over time, or if they spontaneously appeared and disappeared. He just wasn't sure.

One afternoon in Diagon Alley he found himself looking at the men around him, wondering if any of them stirred his interest the way Draco did. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or worried that they didn't. But as he looked at the women, he came to the same conclusion. Sure he could tell an attractive woman from an unattractive one, but logically he could say the same about men.

That night for the first time, he let himself imagine more...intimate situations with Draco. Just as an experiment, he told himself. Just to gather information. Just to see if the idea even appealed to him sexually. He stayed at his own flat rather than going to Ginny's, had a few drinks, and then laid down and closed his eyes. He called to mind the image of Draco and it was there instantly, crystal clear. Then it wasn't just the image of Draco, it was the feel of his calloused hands on Harry's shoulder, it was the heat of his body, the smell of his shirt, the soft brush of his hair. He let Draco overwhelm his senses, let his mind wander back to Draco's kiss. He'd been too shocked to really analyze it as a kiss at the time, so he did it now. He thought back to the feel of Draco's lips pressed against his, his tongue sliding along Harry's in an erotic parody of what their bodies could do together. He shivered as he let the memory progress to fantasy. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him tightly against his body, Harry's bulk against Draco's lean muscle. He could feel Draco's erection pressing insistently against his belly. In the fantasy, his own erection was throbbing and he was surprised to find that back in the real world, he was having the same reaction.

That realization jerked him from all thoughts of Draco and suddenly he felt disloyal. If Ginny had been laying in her bed fantasizing about some other bloke, Harry would have felt betrayed. So it was just as much infidelity to him that he was fantasizing about Draco. Even while he struggled with the guilt of that, he tried to process the fact that it had happened at all. He had to face the truth that he was somehow (when had it happened?) attracted to Draco.

He liked Draco. He'd meant it when he'd told his partner that he was smart and funny and courageous. In the last year, he'd become Harry's best friend. He was loyal even in difficulty, reliable, ingenious, and he could be tender and thoughtful. Combined with the new knowledge that he was physically attracted to Draco, Harry came to the realization that Draco _was _competition for Ginny. Which led him to the decision that he had to tell her. Despite the repercussions for both of them, the only honorable thing to do was to tell her. Harry groaned out loud at the very thought. He rolled over in bed, closing his eyes tightly against the unpleasant knowledge and prayed for sleep to come quickly.

It did, and brought with it dreams of Draco and sweat and yearning and unbridled pleasure. When he awoke the next morning he was horny as hell and depressed to realize that he probably wasn't likely to get any relief from Ginny after he told her the truth. With a sigh, he got out of bed and flooed to her house for breakfast and a very unpleasant conversation.

_**Ah plot...don't you love it? Could I talk you into leaving me a few little treats for me by way of reviews? Because we are just getting ramped up and let me tell you, there is LOTS more plot to come!**_


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